


Three's a crowd

by DyslexicTrashWriter



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Also Haru goes to Namimori, Characters are aged up for obvs reasons, F/M, Hibari - Freeform, Low key found family, Romance, Shhhh it's totally a thing, Tsundere Gokudera, Updates on Sat/Sun, Well Hibari pretty much just does what he wants, Yamamoto has no concept of personal space, You are the snow guardian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-01 03:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 77
Words: 119,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13989483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DyslexicTrashWriter/pseuds/DyslexicTrashWriter
Summary: You’re looking for your sister, the Vongola offer to help if you stand in as a guardian. Simple deal right? Now add in three incredibly attractive guardians.





	1. First Impressions (Gokudera,Hibari,Yamamoto)

Living under one roof with all the Vongola guardians seems a bit farfetched but there are worse way to live, it might be a little cosier than you wanted but you weren’t in a position to be picky.

Your room was located between the rain guardian and the storm guardians - at the top of a large luxurious staircase that looked far too fancy to be taking you to such a small set of rooms . Through observation you noticed that the storm guardian spent most of his time with the Vongola boss. Which worked out well as you didn't feel like being bombarded with his irritatingly frequent habit of shouting at anything and everything. 

The rain guardian seemed to be the complete opposite. He seemed pleasant and (despite being a civilian in background) definitely looked strong enough to hold his own in a fight. Scoping out this place beforehand had been a bonus, if not for information and validity of the letter you received regarding you guardian role then just to give yourself a better understanding of how a mafia family like this one worked. You recalled the information you gathered as you dropped off your one travel bag and headed back down the stairs.

“OPH!” Your hand moved forward to protect yourself from the sudden impact. You look up to see a grey-haired boy standing in front of you.  “Oi! Watch where you’re going idiot!” he shouts. Despite the fact you’re only a few feet away from him.

“Sorry” you mutter, knowing full well you’d been far too distracted to be shouting back at him. “Hey, You’re the new guardian” It was more of a statement than a question. “Not quite” you rub the back of your neck awkwardly “I received a letter from Reborn requesting my sister fill the position the-”

“So why’re you here?” he interrupts “My sisters been missing for 4 years. Reborn said if I stay he’ll help me find her . . . and in the meantime, I’ll hold her place as Snow Guardian” you say , attempting a smile to ease the conversation. “Tch” was his only reply as he barged past you aggressively, followed by a loud yell “ REBORN WHATS WITH THIS NO NAME TAKING A PLACE ON JUDIAMES FAMILY” You decide it was best not to interfere, you didn’t need more evidence of the storm guardians rage.

 

Heading downstairs you began searching for the kitchen, traveling had made you hungry as hell. Before you had a chance to search the cupboard a clinking sound catches your attention. “Hello?” You ask, pausing for a response. Turning around you see the Vongola cloud guardian standing in the doorway. Although you hadn’t formally met before you’d approached Reborn you’d been sure to do extensive recon of the group that suddenly showed so much attention in your sister. Family habit you guess. The Cloud Guardian had been notably. . . strange compared to the others. Long periods of sleep followed by intense barrage of battles. You were already cautious, wondering which one of these moods you had caught him in. “You’ll be attending Namimori” he asks not moving or making an attempt to introduce himself.

“Yes” you reply quietly. Something about the guardians presence was enough to create a scary atmosphere in the room, like a rabbit cornered by a hungry fox. “You need to fill out these” he walks over and hands you a stack of papers labelled Transfer Student. He pauses for a moment staring intently as if silently assessing you.

“Thank you” you say as you slowly take the papers from him, trying to avoid any sudden movement. The cloud guardian giving off serious intimidation vibes, and yet there was some tension in the air. He hadn’t stopped looking at you. It would be rude to break eye contact now but at the same time you felt a little power play was brought on by meeting his stare.

After a good minute of nonstop eye contact you being to notice the scary atmosphere melting into something more alarming. You notice he has his weapons drawn. Instinctively you begin to reach for your own weapon. It wasn’t unheard of for new mafia members to be put through their paces and if the cloud guardian wanted a fight he could get one.

“Hmph” he looks away and leaves without another word. A small sigh of relief passes your lips. _Did anyone here ever finish a conversation properly?_

 

The jet lag from your journey was still clinging to your body. It was midnight and you could barely sit down let alone fall asleep. In a last-ditch effort, you pulled on your coat and decided to kill two birds with one stone; tire your body out with a walk round town and test your knowledge of the local area. Though you’d scouted it out a whole week before announcing yourself to the Vongola family it never hurt to keep sharp you reasoned to yourself.

Your travels lead you past Namimori school. It loomed in the darkness, the tall building almost lost in the night sky. There was one light, in the very far left side of the ground floor. Without thinking you began moving stealthily towards it. In your observations there had been no previous documentation of late night activity in this area, something was up.

Pressing yourself into the wall next to the window you slowly peered in. A figure, tall in appearance was standing in front of a dim light. Worse, they were armed. An enemy of the Vongola family setting a trap was a strong possibility, the family was vulnerable in such a civilian setting. You gently pull at the window to gauge the reaction. Not locked, great. While the stranger’s back was still turned you began as quietly as possible to open the window. The light goes out and the faint sound of a door opening and closing drift through to your ears.

You wait for a minute just in case they came back. With the coast clear you slip through the opening. A split second after you’ve adjusted to the dark the door opens again. Taking caution, you hide under a near-by desk.

You hold your breath as steady footsteps click closer to you . . .then closer . . . then stopping. The figure is in front of you now. Mere meters away. You slow your breathing not wanting to take any chances. The figure notices the window. He shuts it quickly and turns out brushing his foot against yours. He pauses, then reaches down and grabs you by the collar pulling you up without hesitation. You can just make out the face of the cloud guardian as the light on his phone blinds you momentarily.  He stares, seemingly toying with the decision on his next move.

You knock his wrist hard and jump out of his grasp. “It’s fine, It’s just me. I saw a light on and a strange man in here, I thought it might be a trap?” You state wondering why words were now so hard to say.

His face flashes a quick look of worry but changes so quickly back to his stoic look you could blink and miss it. “Is that so” he says, pulling out two metal batons from behind his back.

You go to grab your weapon but a sharp look from the cloud guardian stops you. Before you have time to ask why the cloud guardian moves forward and secures a handcuff to your wrist.

“H-Hey!” you shout as he drags you to the side of the room and attaches the other cuff to a radiator pipe. He doesn’t respond and instead turns his attention to the only door into the room “There’s an enemy on the loose and you’re tying me up?!” You state shocked at his decision, but the cloud guardian doesn’t bother replying as he walks out the room taking the only source of light out with him. _Is this how the Vongola treats their guardians?_ At least it couldn’t get any worse you thought. With a bit of luck that bastard had left your other hand free, you knew that lock kit would come in handy one day however operating it with one hand might prove a challenge, to say the least.

 

A few well-co-ordinated movements later and you can tell you’re in the home stretch with just a couple more turns of the pin. Without warning the door slams open again, light abruptly flooding the classroom. The cloud guardian walking in calmly; seemingly unharmed.

He looks as though he’s about to say something but notices the lock picking mechanism sticking awkwardly out of your handcuff first. An aggressive look crawls over his face, his metal batons are up and he rushes towards you. A quick as you can you get the handcuffs off the radiator pipe and dodge his attack.

“I’m going to have to bite you to death” He smirks. A sudden heavy bite breaches your shoulder causing you to wine in pain. _Fuck how did he get that close that quickly?_ Turning around you manage a clean hit to his ankle with your reinforced staff. This knocks him back enough for you to lean in for another blow to the lower part of his stomach.

“Short range weapon users often forget about defending their lower half” you cockily inform the now grounded guardian smugly. You kneel over him picking up the collar of his white clean pressed shirt bringing his head to yours.

He looks annoyed but hell this was fun. It’d been a long time since you sparred with your sister - it was nice to know you were still sharp.

The Cloud Guardians brow furrowed as he attempts to hit you back not realising your knees had firmly pinned down his arms. It’s amusing to see him struggle. In the heat of the moment you grabbed the handcuffs still attached your wrist and cuff one end to his hand. Undoing the part still on your wrist you shimmy down to attach it to one of his belt loops

“Not so fun is it?” you smirk. Knowing you’d already pushed your luck far enough you turn and exit through the same window, making sure to close it behind you. One as a sign of respect and protection for the now slightly impaired guardian and two to hopefully discourage any angry pursuits.

 

As you arrive home you can’t help but wish you’d had a little more fun playing with the cloud guardian.  You turn the handle of your door and happily hang up you clothes before switching into PJs. Some small snoring sounds falls against your ears as you clamber into bed ad you can’t help but wonder how thin the walls must be between rooms. Having sufficiently tired yourself out you roll onto you slide and grab a pillow to cuddle. For some reason it’s warmer than usual and your pillow feels human shaped. You feel around some more, convinced your brain is just incorrectly processing   what’s going on. The pillow moves and you scramble for your bedside light, hastily flicking the switch.

A jolt of surprise runs through you as the light illuminates the face of the Vongola rain guardian. This is definitely going to be a strange first impression you grumble out loud to no-one in particular. You lean in and gently tap the sleeping guardian’s shoulders. “Um excuse me?” You whisper. He doesn’t react.

“Hello?” You say a little louder reaching over to put both hands on his shoulder and shake him. It’s a bad move. Sleepily the rain guardian rolls over, his arm reaching over to bring you with him – holding you hostage in a tight cuddle. He’s so strong you think to yourself as you realise there’s no escaping his grasps. Even worse he’s rubbing his chin on top of your head like you’re his favourite teddy bear.

It looks like this is gonna be the rest of your night. Lacking the energy to take out a sleeping giant nearly double your size and strength you reluctantly get comfy and let your eyelids softly close.

 

A small ray of light slides in through your curtains. Sleepily you check the time. Only 7am, you sigh and roll over enjoying the luxury of a double bed, something you’d not had in a while. Being constantly on the move looking for you sister had led to some rough night’s sleep, you could get used to this. Something felt off though, you sit up and look around racking your brain, something happened last night.

Foggily your body connects with your brain and pushes up the memory of the rain guardian’s arms around you. _OH GOD_.  A hot red blush fills your face as you suddenly remember. You look over onto the bed, even more confused to find it empty.

You reason it could have been a dream, albeit a very regular dream considering the night terrors and bizarre mafia scenario your brain normally generated for you.  Swinging your legs out the bed your feet touch an unfamiliar material. As you look down you can already see the clothes beneath your feet are not yours.

Picking up a shirt you identify it could possibly be the rain guardians. Left when he got into bed. Vaguely you brain brings up the idea that the rain guardian was naked while in your bed and you have to quickly shut it down or else you’re sure you won’t be able to look him in the eyes. Whatever you remember from last night the rain guardian was definitely in your room. You begin to wonder what the protocol for this is. Should you take the clothes back? Or would that be awkward like hey -you-slept-in-my-room-last-night-so-here’s-your-clothes-hahaha . You didn’t want other Vongola members getting the wrong idea.

You’d have to return them you reasoned. Lest you give him an excuse to come into your bedroom again. After getting dressed you quietly step out in the hallway light beautifully by the morning sun.

You knock on the door and wait. A cheerful “Come in” sounds from the other side. You try to be calm as you enter, part of you had really been hoping he’d be out and you could just drop them off without having to face him.

“H-hi” you wave awkwardly. “ I uh . . . think these are yours” you practically throw the clothes into his arms. “O-oh” he said suddenly avoiding eye contact and staring at the floor. If you didn’t know him better you would have said his cheeks had turned a light pink, but that could just be the sun.

He chuckles, seemingly regaining his composure. “I’m sorry, I got tired from baseball practice and went into the wrong room. I hope I didn’t disturb you” he says brightly. Something about seeing that light-hearted smile up close eases the awkwardness you felt. Rain guardian traits you reminded yourself.

“I promise it won’t happen again” he smiles and tilt his head to the side. “Oh I don’t think I’ve introduced myself” he offers his hand for a shake. “I’m Yamamoto Takeshi”

You take it and try to suppress the memory of those strong hands wrapped around your body. “Nice to meet you” you reply sheepishly as you introduced yourself - trying to make it seem like you hadn’t A) Spent the last week stalking him and already knew not only his name but every single detail about him down to his fathers favourite style of tuna cut and B) spent the night forcibly cuddled up to his chest as he nuzzled you like a teddy bear. “Mah, now wasn’t that a better first impression” he laughs.

You notice the clock by his bed and panic. You hurry out the door to get ready. You have time for a quick shower if you skip makeup or breakfast. Luckily you’re just one room down from the shower area. You had planned a quick shower but that was before you remembered how nice a hot shower was. You felt the water pour down your neck, over your shoulders, down you back and across your legs. You’d forgotten how long it had been since you had hot water on demand. Five minutes couldn’t hurt, if you skipped makeup and breakfast you could still make it.

Savouring every moment from shampooing to conditioning right up to the last few seconds of washing off the soap you eventually step out the shower block feeling ready to take on the day. So happy you practically waltz back to your room. You haven’t had time to unpack since yesterday nor do you have your proper school uniform but you figure black trousers and a white shirt can’t go wrong. Throwing a granola bar into you bag you set off for Namimori school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Chapter had been re-edited


	2. All Types of Weather (Gokudera,Hibari,Yamamoto)

“You’re late.” a familiar voice scolds. From behind comes the cloud guardian, he hesitates as he realises you’re the girl from the other night. His grip tightens around his tonfas, just as he changes his footing another voice comes from behind you. The storm guardian! “Oi Hibari-san!” he shouts. “You can’t just go beating up everyone you see”. “C’mon” he barks, grabbing your arm and violently dragging you into the school.

“Geez women can’t you do anything right?!” He fumes as he drags you to a notice board and begins scanning class sheets. You’d known the storm guardians of the Vongola family had been classically forward and full of energy but man was this guy on a whole other level. Come to think of it wasn’t he usually around the 10th?

“Dammit” he mutters

“OH WHAT NOW?!” you shout before realising you meant to say that in your head and not aloud.

“OI! Don’t go shouting in the middle of the school” he shouts back. “I’m trying to help you, you clueless woman!”

“Who said I needed your help?!” You reply, now getting more and more pissed off with the storm guardians attitude. He reaches into the inner pocket of his blazer and pulls out three sticks of what you can only assume are dynamite. Before you even have time to react a familiar clink of metal on mental strikes from behind the two of you.

“You’re causing a disturbance” his pose indicates he’s ready to attack with both his tonfas up. Both you and the storm guardian gulp audibly.

“Now look what you’ve done clueless woman!” the storm guardian whispers to you.

“What do we do?” you whisper back

“Apologise” he says honestly

“”WHAT FOR?!” You shout “I’m not the one bringing bombs onto school property!” Oh no, that just seemed to piss the cloud guardian off more. Running forward he grabs both you and the storm guardian by the collar and begins dragging you down the corridor. No matter how much you squirm there’s no getting out of that viper tight grip.

 “This is all your fault!” the storm guardian whispers angrily.

“Where’s he even taking us?” you hiss.

“Detention, if you resist ill bite both of you to death” frowns the cloud guardian. The mention of being bitten to death causes a small twinge of pain in your shoulder, as if your body was remembering the pain of that exact threat. Detention turned out to be a small room in the underground levels of Namimori school. You’d be lying if you said it didn’t send shivers down your spine. The cloud guardian drops both of you and pulls out some files from his desk. “Hayato Gokudera and . . . “ He pauses.

“I uh . . . I haven’t officially registered here yet” you say filling the silence. “ I have the transfer student papers though I can fill them out just now!” You rummage in your bag and hastily pull them out.

“Hm” He opens Hayatos papers ignoring your comments. “This is your third time being late”

The storm guardian looks pissed by this! “I don’t have time for this, 10th will be missing me!” as he turns to leave the fluffy haired cloud guardian throws his tonfa an inch away from the storm guardians face. This only increases the storm guardians anger.

“Oi! You’re not keeping me here!” Hayato reaches into his blazer and once again pulls out several sticks of dynamite. The cloud guardian smirks obviously relishing the opportunity for a fight.

“Hey now!” you stand in front of Gokudera making a barrier between him and the cloud guardian. “L-look there’s no need to resort to violence. Gokudera-san and I can serve detention after class today, a-and I’ll stay behind to fill out the transfer form. Then they’ll be no reason to fight, Okay?” They both seem agreeable to this. Or at least you assume as the storm guardian puts away his dynamite and excuses himself muttering something about clueless woman getting in the way of a decent fight.

 You let out a small sign of relief before remembering you’re still in a room with the scary cloud guardian. You nervously take a seat in a nearby desk and begin filling out the transfer forms. It’s not long before you feel the guardian’s presence hovering over you. You daren’t look up but it felt like he was right behind you, you could feel his breath on the top of your head, menacingly close. Things like Name, Nationality, Age were easy enough to answer. The only trouble was your emergency contact. You didn’t know anyone in japan that well and since your sister went missing you hadn’t had any family that you knew of. You decided to leave it blank. Turning around you hand the paper to the incredibly close guardian.

He frowns “You can’t leave the emergency contact blank”

You grumble a little, you don’t exactly want to explain the past 4 years of missing sister, mafia interactions and world traveling to him.

“I uh don’t have any family in japan” you say. “If I get hurt I guess I’ll just have to deal with it myself” you laugh awkwardly trying to make some kind of joke around the whole situation.

“Interesting” a sadistic grin creeps over his face. Oh god, what was that look and why did it make you feel like you were giving him some kind of power over you.  
“Is that all?” you ask standing up from you chair. Quickly the cloud guardian pushes you back into your seat. “You still have detention.”

Dammit you mutter, this guy really made all the power moves. You reluctantly try to get comfy in your seat. The cloud guardian takes your papers and sits facing you on the desk in front. He pours through the file slowly as if memorising every line and answer.After a long time he turns away and begins writing in your file. You stare around the room, this place just oozed scary vibes. No windows, no clocks, bare walls and a few old desks scattered around. If he was going to bite you to death it’d definitely be in here “Take this to the school administration office” he hands back the paper without turning to look at you.

Well you didn’t need to be told twice! You take the papers and book it out of the scary underground class/torture room. An involuntary sigh of relief escapes your lips as you rise the stairs to the ground floor of Namimori. Come to think of it where was the office? The tall cream walls of the school gave off a warm glow in the morning light. There were worse places to get lost you thought to yourself as you roamed the corridors looking for some indication of an office.

 Come to think of it what had the cloud guardian written in your file? You open the transfer student document and have a quick scan through. You notice an unfamiliar hand writing style on one of the last pages. Under emergency contact, surprisingly there was a number . . . and a name. Hibari Kyoya. The cloud guardian, Kyoya had put himself down as your emergency contact?! A million thoughts raced through your mind. Maybe it was a Vongola thing? Looking out for each other? But then the cloud guardian was traditionally the most independent form the family and Kyoya seemed to be no different. Unless . . . no. You shake your head. It was something you could contemplate later. Eventually you run into the school office, It quiet but there’s a staff member and a student chatting in the corner. You approach them and ask for help.

“I can take care of that for you” the staff member says. She reads over the first page.

“Ah yes you’ll be in Kyoko’s class” She gestures to the female student next to her. “Kyoko would you mind showing the new student to class?”  
“Of course” the golden blonde student replies. She cheerfully hooks her arm around yours and beings chatting.

“You must be the new student! Everyone’s already talking about you.”

Oh no, so much for blending in on your first day. “ Apparently you’re already in trouble with the head of the disciplinary committee!” she exclaims. “I uh . . . may have been a little late” you reply nervously. You really hope you don’t get pinned for a slacker.

“It’s impressive though” she states excitedly.

“ Nobodies ever come out of detention unharmed. Where do you live? Next time we can walk together so you’re not late!”

“I live in that big house near the river.” You reply.

“Oh!” Kyoko looks slightly shocked. “The one with Tsuna-kun and his friends?”

“Y-yes” It hits you again, the weird feeling of being the only girl in a house filled with boys.

“Ohhh must be lucky!” She chuckles and leads you into a classroom. Acting completely the opposite of subtle she leads you up to the top of the classroom and announces your name, noting you survived Hibari’s detention unharmed. This raises a breath of amazement from the class. Through the seats you notice the 10th. You haven’t been formally introduced yet but this didn’t feel like the right moment to explain your missing mafia sister situation in the middle of a full classroom. The only available seat was behind the 10th next to the window. You happily take it avoiding the looks from your new classmates, staring at you with a mix of curiosity and revere. The teacher returned to her lesson, it wasn’t very interesting and since you were near the back you decided to update your notes on the Vongola family. So far the storm guardian had been much more volatile than expected, worth noting he got kind of cute when he’s angry too. No! Silly lets keep these notes professional. Anything else worth noting about the storm guardian? Not much. You moved onto the cloud guardian, or Kyoya-san you guess you should start calling him since . . . he was your emergency contact. Previous note on him included his position on the disciplinary committee and a fondness for small birds. Notes of his excessive excitement at the prospect of fighting would be worth noting and his strange scary stoic atmosphere. You decided to spend the rest of the period making sure your notes were up to date.

 The sharp ring of the bell draws your attention from your notes. A break, finally you can introduce yourself. You get up out your chair and begin to walk towards the 10th.

“Good morning, I don’t think I got a chance to introduce myself I’m- "

“Don’t bother 10th!” A loud yell comes from the seat next to the 10th

None other than the storm guardian, Hayato Gokudera. You roll your eyes and look at the 10th. “Is he always like this” you say cheekily testing the waters between the two.

The 10th looks up at you apologetically, “Gokudera, She’s our new guardian”

The storm guardian grunts. “10th I know but we don’t know anything about her. What if she’s here to assassinate you?!”

A small laugh escapes your laugh, you. ASSASSINATE someone. Oh now that was a good joke. Sure you could defend yourself but taking out the head of the Vongola family would be a whole ‘nother field.

“I promise I’m not here to assassinate anyone “ you chuckle as you hold your hands up in peaceful gesture.

“Tch, I still don’t trust her” Muttered the grey-haired idiot.

The 10th turned his attention to you “Reborn told me the situation, You’re here because your sister is missing?”  
You nod. That saved a lot of explaining.

“Welcome to the family” The young boy smiles and shakes your hand. Through some sixth sense you can feel the storm guardians eye burn the back of your neck. You feel he wouldn’t be so quiet if the 10th wasn’t being so friendly.

The rest of the class goes by without a hitch. Not that you were paying much attention, you’d brought a book with you today and to your pleasure had found the 10th hair perfectly hid you from the teachers view.

The last bell rings just as you were getting to a really important plot point. Can’t be helped you thought. Looking out the window you realise the weather has shifted from the lovely morning shine to straight up thundering rain. You sigh, of all the days to forget a waterproof jacket, it would be today. You pack up your stuff and approach the two Vongola family members.

“Hey, should we walk home together?” you ask hoping to spend a bit more time getting to know you’re new “temporary” boss.  
“Sure” the 10th smiles.

“Hey!” a cheerful voice interrupts. “Are you walking home with Tsuna-kun?” Kyoko asks.  
“Kyoko!” The bosses face suddenly turns slightly pink. He awkwardly stutters out that he is going home with you but not like that! Is it possible that he has a crush on Kyoko. Only one way to find out.

“Actually Kyoko I need to stay behind, but 10th would really appreciate some company on his walk home” you wink at boss.

“Uhh I . . . Kyoko . . . really it’s uh . . . I don’t need” the 10th looks even more flustered by this.

“Is that so Tsuna-kun? I think your house is on the way to mine. I’d like to walk with you” Kyoko says as she takes the 10th arm.

“Eh 10th I’m coming too!” The storm guardian cries out madly grabbing his stuff.

“Oh no you don’t” you say as you grab his shirt collar to hold him back. He’d only get in the way of this romantic set up.

“Clueless woman what are you doing?!” He practically screams at you. You smirk “You have detention idiot” The storm guardian stops struggling and glares at you.

“Wouldn’t want to make the head of the disciplinary committee mad, now would we?” you ask in a sing song voice.

The guardian defeatedly removes your hand from his shirt collar. “Tch you’re a pain woman you know that?” You chuckle and hand him his stuff off the table. “I know” you smile.

The glass doors at the front of the school give you a full view of the now hailing rain that had clouded the sky and caused a dark blue hue to settle cross the sky. It was a choice of waiting it out or making a run for it. While the latter seemed like a quicker option you really didn’t want to ruin your one good white shirt. As you sat down a familiar voice interrupts your train of thought. Yamamoto Takeshi. Standing in the hallway waving like a happy idiot. “You haven’t left yet?” He looks unreasonably happy about this.

“N-no” you say as you once again struggle to make eye contact. He walks over and stares out the window letting out a low whistle. “Wow, it’s really raining! Lucky I packed a jacket huh?” he laughs gently. Turning round he asks “Are you waiting for someone?”

“N-no” you reply nervously. “I uh didn’t really bring anything for this kind of weather” Wow even that sentence was a struggle to get out. “Oh, so you’re stuck here?” he laughs again more wholeheartedly this time.

“Uh y-yeah” you mumble, annoyed to be caught out unprepared.

“I could help you” he says tilting his head to the side and smiling.

“Really?” It comes out a little more skeptical than you intended

He nods and pulls out a massive oversized rain coat from his bag. “My dad gave me this rain coat today but I don’t need it since I already have an umbrella.” He hands it to you without a second thought. You can’t really get over how friendly this guy is. He’s the complete opposite of the storm and the cloud. You graciously take the jacket and zip it up. Through the reflection in the glass door you can see it’s ridiculously oversized making you look like a massive grey blob.

The sleeves are several inches longer than your actual arms and the hood cover most of you face so you have to try and swoop it back with your hands which proves impossible with the extra fabric in the way. If it wasn’t so annoying it’d be hilarious you think to yourself. The rain guardian seems to find it amusing though as another light laugh graces his lips.

“I think it looks great!” you can’t see but you bet 5 dollars he’d have that stupid smile on his face again.

He bends down to meet your face, “Ready to go home?”. He’s a little too close for comfort and the sudden appearance of his face sends you reeling a few steps back, only to trip and fall over the bottom of the jacket. The rain guardian catches you before you hit the ground.

“Are you okay?”. You nod, not quiet recovered from the shock of suddenly being face to face with him. “S-shall we just go home?” you mumble from under the lip of your hood. “Yeah!” the guardian replies hauling you back onto your feet. The walk home is quiet, the rain is too loud to speak and even if it wasn’t the size of the hood meant you were encapsulated in your own little grey world.  
The house was a warm welcome from the cold outside. Despite his kind gesture it still felt awkward to say anything to the rain guardian so you immediately headed to your room.

It’d been a long day. Carefully taking off the oversized coat you put it on the radiator to dry, with well-practiced ease you took off your bra and breathed a sigh of relief. Those things were a nightmare. Changing into a tank top and sweats you decided to start unpacking what you could from your suitcase. Nothing special, a family photo, couple of well-worn books and your clothes. You’d learned to travel light over the past 4 years that’s for sure. The room was well furnished with a mahogany desk against the wall, a double bed, a tall wardrobe and its own small balcony overlooking the garden. There wasn’t much of a view tonight but you were sure once it had cleared up it would make a wonderful reading spot.

After grabbing a cup of tea form downstairs, you settle onto the bed, lying down with your head falling off the mattress, you pick up where you left off in your adventure book. It was at a really great bit the female protagonist was leading an uprising against the evil villain who had been trying to foil her plans. There were only a few chapters left in the book, while you were excited to get to the ending you also didn’t want it to end. This meant you savoured every page, allowing yourself to get completely lost in the detail of the story. It wasn’t long though before your neck started to twinge. The problem of finding a good book you thought. It’s impossible to stay comfy for long. As you brought your head up out of the corner of your eye you notice the shadow of a human lying across your balcony. Had someone been watching you this whole time? As if noticing your reaction, the shadow on the balcony disappeared.

That was weird you thought, as a small yellow bird perched on the balcony rail stared at you contently despite the rain. You shrug it off as nothing more than a coincidence. No way could someone get so close to the Vongola house without being spotted. It was only 9 pm but you decided to get an early bed to try and avoid being late to school again.

The sound of your room door being open roused you from your sleep. A thin fade of light emanated from the hallway. Sleepily you sit up to figure out what was going on. In the frame of the doorway stood Yamamoto Takeshi. Not again you think.

“Yamamoto-san, y-you’re in the wrong room again” You say.

He seems to take no notice and slides into your bed. You feel yourself freeze. “Yamamoto-san?” The gentle sound of snores drifts through the air. He’s . . . He’s sleep walking?! You turn on the light next to you and sure enough there’s the guardian of rain, fully asleep in your bed. Damn, is this going to be a regular occurrence you think to yourself. At least he’s not- Before you can finish your sentence you feel his arms wrap around you.  
“Teddy-chan” you hear he mumble through his snores.  
Seriously, what kind of guy sleeps with a teddy. You sigh. Looks like it going to be another night like the last. Does this technically count as a slumber party?


	3. The Disciplinary Committees Favourite Position (Hibari)

You wake up a little earlier today. Just like before, the rain guardian is gone. A quick peak over the side and you’re thankful he at least remembered to take his clothes with him this time. _Oh god is this what a one-night stand feels like?!_ You gasp and shake your head. _No, as long as no-one saw it’ll be fine, technically you slept together but nothing happened, right?_

Today Kyoko, Gokudera, the 10th and another brown-haired girl are waiting for you at the gates. “Good morning” you call. The walk to school is more fun with people, you learn that there’s a place nearby with great chocolate that you _have_ to check out. You also learn that if you want to have the most fun at Namimori you should join an after-school club.

At lunch you decide to walk down and look at the after-school clubs sign up board. There’s a whole load of options. A lot of them sports based . . . hang on! There’s a library club, that’s totally up your street. There’s also a position free on the disciplinary committee. You remember part of the deal with Reborn included signing up, you don’t know why but at the very least it could be fun, right? You sign your name up under both sheets just to hedge your bets. You didn’t really think about it again until mid-way through class when a tannoy announcement asked you to visit the disciplinary committee. The class turned around to look at you and an ominous “Ooooohh” rose from the room.  Trying to brush it off you saddle your bag over your shoulder and head out the door. Waiting for you in the disciplinary meeting room is none other than the head of the Disciplinary committee Hibari Kyouya. He was standing by the window holding the signup sheet.  He looks vaguely amused.

“You want to join the disciplinary committee” It comes out as more of a statement than a question. “Why” he asks, his question takes you aback. You hadn’t actually thought you’d be interviewed like this. You’re pause dissatisfies him somewhat. With one swift motion he locks the door behind you and pins you against a wall. You can feel the blood pump around your body as he stares at you with those dark mysterious eyes. His actions and body language draw a thin line between aggressive and toying. Either you’d pissed him off enough to fight, or he was just playing with you. You decide to gamble on the latter.

 “Reborn requested I join” you whisper, careful not to get much closer to the dangerous boy standing in front of you.

 It was a little hard to deliver those lines with any sense of power when your arms were being held above you head but it seems to pay off. The cloud guardian smirks and moves closer, so close his lips are almost touching yours. Whatever his motivations, he seems to enjoy making you squirm.

He moves your hand so that one of his is holding both of yours. With his free hand he runs it along your shoulder, pulling at some of the buttons on your shirt. You struggle but he has the upper hand. He pulls back the top of your shirt to reveal your shoulder. The mark he left from before has grown a deep dark purple colour. Gently, Hibari presses two of his fingers onto the still healing bruise, dragging out a cry of pain. This seems to amuse him further. He leans in more, hovering his head over your already bruised shoulder, his mouth slowly opening exposing his sharp carnivorous teeth. His jaw makes contact with the bruise, and a surge of pain radiates through your body. Instinctively you shove your shoulder hard against his mouth. An action that sends him backwards a few steps. You throw him a look of pure scorn. He grips his jaw, angered by your disruption. Using your chance, you grab your weapon from behind your back and held it against his throat; Driving him against the opposite wall. Quickly you pin him, pressing your weapon against his midriff, the weakest point in most defences.

“You think this is fun?” You ask, staring him down. He may have managed to corner you, but the tables had turned now.

“Do you not remember what happened last time we fought?” It was your turn to smirk as you took your free hand and pull open some of his shirt buttons. Not good, he used the opportunity to push back against the restraints. He was well and truly pissed off.

 “Now, now Kyouya-senpai” you say, in a mock stern voice as you reinforce the restraint. “I think I need to return the favour” Carefully you lean in and pull back the left half of his shirt exposing his clean, unmarked shoulder. As hard as you can you bite down onto the guardian. If he wanted a fight, he’d got one. There’s no cry of pain but there’s a struggle on his face that gives you a strange pleasure. “I mean it would be a loss not to have someone like me on the committee wouldn’t you agree?” you smirk, knowing full well you’d won this interaction.

Hibari seems to struggle once more, finally finding his metal tonfas, he pushes you off. You’re quick to react, and hold you weapon up anticipating the next blow. He’s stronger than you think and the force of the blow alone sends you to the floor. "I’m going to bite you to death” he threatens, looking down at you exposing his razor-sharp teeth once more. _Would this battle ever end?_ In a cruel twist of fate, he uses the same move you made during your previous fight, pinning your arms down with his legs.

“H-hey!” you protest, realising you’d bitten off _just_ a little more than you could chew this time “Aren’t you a guardian? Mercy alright?!” He pauses and pulls back a little, a cruel grin on his face. Suddenly there’s a knock on the door. “H-Hibari-senpai” A slightly scared voice cuts through the air “We’re ready to interview people for the committee position, C-c-an you let us in?”. The guardian looks dissatisfied as he pulls himself off you. “Fix your uniform” he states coldly as he unlocks the door.

 


	4. A Late Night Visitor (Yamamoto)

As soon as you had the opportunity you rushed to your room. The interview hadn’t been too bad. Once Kyoya had left the room seemed to relax a little.  
A small knock interrupts your thought process. It was Yamamoto. A little early for bed you joke to yourself. Without thinking you open the door.

“Hey!” you say as you open the door. “How can I help?” Yamamoto was smiling like always. “I was wondering if you wanted to come down for dinner, Gokudera’s sister is cooking”  
A warm cooked meal, just what you needed! “Of course,” you replied.Yamamoto looked down and smiled. His face quickly changed to one of concern.

“What happened to your shoulder?!” You look down and realised your half unbuttoned shirt exposed your bruised shoulder. Oh god, when did the embarrassment end?! Before you can protest Yamamoto was leaning down inspecting the bruise.

“Hey, that look really sore” His concerned look changed slightly and he disappeared for a moment back into his own room. You quickly hurried back into your room to try button up your shirt you managed just as Yamamoto returned with some kind of ointment in his hand.

“I use this all the time for baseball injuries” He smiled. Did . . . did he really think this was a sports injury? Man, there’s no limit to this guy’s naivety. That being said it was incredibly kind of him to offer it.  
“I’ll uh. . . meet you downstairs” you smiled as he handed over the pot.

 Seemingly satisfied with this Yamamoto left to head downstairs. Before heading down, you took a little more of the balm and rubbed it into your collar bone. The cool numbing sensation was heavenly. As you were getting ready to join dinner you noticed the storm guardian walking by your door. “Hey hot head!” You shouted, “I hear your sister is making dinner”.

He stopped immediately in his tracks. “What?!” a look of sheer terror struck his face. “Yeah Yamamoto-kun just told me”  
He grabbed his stomach as if recalling a painful memory and ran right back into his room. Geez what’s up with him you wonder as you head down to the kitchen. Shortly after you’re greeted with a horrific smell. Wafting from the kitchen comes the smell of strong chemical cleaners mixed in with what can old be described as the stench of a rotting fish left out in the sunlight surrounded by mouldy cheese. It’s almost enough to make you throw up on contact.

Entering the kitchen you suddenly understood why the storm guardian had turned on his heels so quickly. The usually clean and quaint kitchen reeked of sewer smells. The food somehow looked worse, with green purple ooze slowly pouring on top and oh god . . .was something moving on one of the plates?! A woman appeared from behind a counter. She must be Bianca. “Reborn” she called out. “I’ve made dinner”. You clutched your stomach as another dish was pulled out the oven. You looked around and noticed Yamamoto was also seemingly regretting his decision. Poor boy. Before you have time to leave Bianca caught sight of you. “Another person to taste my cooking, how nice” She plonked you down on a seat next to Yamamoto who’s face was turning greener by the minute. No doubt if you didn’t come up with an excuse quick you’d both be subjected to the globular oozing mush in front of you.

 “H-hey, Yamamoto-kun” You said as you tried not to inhale any more of the poisonous fumes emanating from the ‘food’.  
“I haven’t figured out how that balm you gave me works. Maybe you should uh . . . come and show me?” It was a lame excuse but something had to get you out this situation and you couldn’t leave him here. Poor boy would be far too polite to decline a deadly meal.

“Oh, you just rub it on the bruise” He laughed, completely missing what you were trying to do.  
A massive sweat drop forms by your head. “I uh . . .there’s actually a spot I can’t get, I need your help”

Yamamoto seemed to finally catch on to your plan. “I guess I’ll need to give you a hand then” he laughed. You both promptly rose from the table and snuk out, making sure to tiptoe past Bianca who seems preoccupied with finding Reborn.

Only once you’re both safely on the landing of the top floor do you stop to catch your breath. A laugh breaks its way past your lips. Man was that a close call! Yamamoto also seems to find your recent escape funny, joining in with his own light-hearted laugh.

“So you need some help?” He asked innocently.  
You laughed again, a small tear escaping from you eye. “Good one!”

But the guardian continued looking at you, waiting for your answer.  
Oh no, he was serious you thought to yourself.

“It’s . . . No really I . . . ” You began.  
“It’s okay” he smiled and tilted his head to the side. “I won’t tell anyone you’re bad at sports”  
It was a cute gesture but there was no way you were going to explain the bruise on your shoulder. Yamamoto raised his hands and begun tickling you without warning. You couldn’t help but laugh and squirm as he went right for your underarms.

“C’mon lets find that bruise!” He was treating you like a little sister but there’s no escaping those ticklish hands. The shoulder of your shirt fell slightly revealing one of the marks on your shoulder. Yamamoto smiled proudly. “Found it!” Gently he pulled you into his room and sat you down on the bed. He rummaged around in one of the drawers in the far end of the room.

His room wasn’t far off yours. A few key differences being the baseballs bats in the corner and the fact that all furniture bar the bed had been moved aside to create a large open space on the floor. Most likely for practicing swings you concluded as you noticed the chipped wall next to it. Yamamoto turns around producing yet another tin of balm.  
“Let’s get that bruise sorted okay?” He sat down behind you on the bed, both legs on the outside of yours. His torso felt warm against your back. It contrasted greatly to the sudden touch of cold balm onto your shoulder.

You allowed yourself a moment to enjoy the sensation of being encircled in Yamamoto body. It was a nice change for him to be awake you thought to yourself, letting out a small laugh. You always felt like you could relax around the rain guardian, he had an air of peace and comfort around him. Not unlike experiencing the feeling of coming into a warm home after being caught in a cold shower. You close your eyes and lean back, letting Yamamotos strong body support you. You didn’t realise how tense your body was until he’d started massaging your shoulder. Maybe just five more minutes like this.

\--  
You’re eyes open slowly as a small shift in your position stirs you. “Ah you’re finally awake” The rain guardians voice was smooth as he laughed. “You’ve been out for twenty minutes, you looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you.” Any sense of embarrassment you felt melted away with that trademark smile. Groggily you pulled yourself up, as lovely as the nap was you don’t want to return the habit of falling asleep in someone else’s bed. You broadcast this thought to Yamamoto which made him laugh. “If I’m not careful it’ll become a bad habit” he said with something of a smirk gracing his lips. You departed, trying to ignore both the dreaminess of the whole situation and the temptation to re-enter Yamamotos room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay a kudos AND bookmarks! Thank you so much guys, i'm really glad you're liking the story, hope you enjoyed this more fluff base update ~<3


	5. It's Not What It Looks Like (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera gets the wrong end of the stick and ends up on the wrong side of a basketballs freaks arms.

You’re first day as part of the Disciplinary Committee was going to go well. You decided before you even walked out the door. Your uniform was perfectly washed and ironed. Your hair style followed every regulation in the Namimori handbook and your shoes were so shiny you could see your eager face in their reflection. 

The day was even sunny, encouraging you to embrace a sense of hope and opportunity. You’d received an email detailing your first duty, Hall monitoring. It couldn’t be hard and it’d be a great way to get to know the school. As usual you met up with Kyoko and Haru for your walk to school and enjoyed catching up on the latest gossip. Todays’ topic was the upcoming school dance you tuned out for a little simply enjoying the company of the two girls.  
You ask if they can stop for a minute outside a local sweet shop. They look curious but agree. A few moments later you come out and continue on your journey.

First to third period is your schedule. The hallways are quiet as usual which gives you a little comfort. A few moments pass by and you notice a student walking towards you.  
“Good morning” you call. “Do you have a hall pass?”

The student looks at your face, then the sash around your arm, then back to you. His face tenses.  
“I promise I wasn’t skipping class. Please don’t bite me” He raises his hands up defensively and you can see through his guards he’s shaking. 

It’s just as you thought. Kyoya had successfully scared the crap out of the students at Namimori. 

“Can you show it to me” you ask politely, placing your hand gently on the student shoulder to calm him.

He nods and slowly reaching into his pocket, all the time reading your face intensely as if expecting you to snap at any second. You look over the hall pass. It checks out. Now was the time to put your plan into action.

“That look like a hall pass alright.” You reach into you uniform pocket and offer the kid a bright pink sweetie.  
“Thank you for respecting Namimori rules.” You said as you flashed your biggest smile.

The student looks a little stunned but slowly reaches out to take the candy.  
“Thanks” he says seemingly a little unsure about the whole interaction.  
“Oh! And please don’t run in the halls!” you laugh and step out of the kids way.  
“Yeah . . . thanks senpai.” The kid replies, a small smile appearing on his face as he turns to continue his journey.

You employ this tactic on anyone who interacts with you throughout the morning. Someone not running in the hallway? Sweetie! Someone asking for directions from a member of the Disciplinary Committee? Sweetie! People following uniform guidelines? Sweetie. It was basic reward psychology applied from a book you’d read. Pretty soon you’re almost out of sweeties but the whole morning had been such a positive experience. You hear the bell for the end of third period and stuff your committee sash into your bag.

You find the gang all hanging around 10ths desk as they do most days. It’s a noisy contrast from the peace of the halls. The classroom is a buzz with chatter.  
“Ne That’s a great idea Kyoko-chan!” Haru pipes up from the group.

“You’re here!” She grabs your arm and enthusiastically drags you into the conversation.  
“We were just discussing who we were going to take to the dance! Kyoko-chan wants to go with her big brother Ryohei, so I’m going to take Tsuna-kun that way we can all go together! Who are you gonna bring to the dance?” She talks at a million miles an hour barely giving you a chance to process her words before jumping in.

“You should take Gokudera! He’ll be mad if he misses out an event with Tsuna-kun. They’re so close! Wouldn’t it be so great, all of us together it’ll be like one big party. Think about it’s be soo cool!” She carries on like this for a while. Even 10th looks a little uncomfortable.  
“So, what do you think?” 

Gokudera quickly makes his voice known. “What makes you think I want to go with that clueless woman?!”

“Ehhhh Gokudera that’s mean” Haru injects. It hurt a little to be rejected so quickly but then what else would that hot-headed idiot have said.

“She thinks just because she’s cute she can walk in here and suddenly take whoever she wants to dance?!” 

The group falls silent. Gokudera seems to take a moment to realise what came out of his mouth. When he finally does he snatches his bag from the back of his chair and storms out of the classroom.

As you look around you see everyone is just as stunned as you are. The ability to move seems to have left your body. Did he really just say you were cute? You shake your head and force your legs to move, carrying you out the door following the storms wake. There’s not much indication of Gokuderas presence in the hallway but you notice the door to the science lab is cracked open slightly. 

Inside the room is dark but you can sense the presence of someone else. Just in the furthest corner of the room. “Gokudera-san?” you call out. 

“Go away!” came a sharp reply. 

You take a risk and put your hand out. With luck it makes contact with his chest. “Gokudera-san?” you ask gently 

“What?” he responds curtly.

“Do you think I’m cute?” You can’t see him but you feel his body tense against your hand.

“No, Shut up clueless woman. You’re Japanese is just off!”

Good, that was the answer you needed to turn this around. 

“Ah my apologises. I guess as long as you don’t think I’m cute you’ll have no problem coming to the dance with me. It would mean you could be close to 10th and give me a chance to hang out with Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan” 

A faint “tch” comes from somewhere just in front of you. “Don’t you want to ask that baseball idiot instead?” This question takes you aback. You pause long enough for him to interpret it as a prompt to explain.  
“I see him.” Gokuderas body suddenly sinks to the floor, you find yourself doing the same keeping your hand on his chest as a gesture of care.  
“Every evening he goes into your room, every morning he leaves before he thinks anyone else is up” Gokudera slams his hand against the wall, his voice wavers and become fainter. “And you have the nerve to act like nothing’s going on”  
Despite the situation you can’t help but laugh. 

“Oi! What’s so funny?!” His voice returns to its usual intense anger. 

“Gokudera-san. You’ve really got the wrong end of the stick” You have to put your hand over your mouth to stop yourself giggling any more. “Yamamoto-kun sleep walks! It’s, it’s really not like that.”  
Gokuderas body shifts again. “What?” He sounds more confused this time. “He sleep walks. I don’t believe you. Bastard probably faking it to take advantage of your cluelessness!”  
He’s insulting you again. That’s a good sign. 

“If you don’t believe me you can come stakeout my room tonight.” You offer.  
“Fine!” he says pushing himself up off the floor and almost knocking you off your balance. Quickly he grabs your hand and steadies you. “What the hell are you doing on the floor idiot!” He’s definitely back to his old self you think as you follow behind him hearing nothing but insults and name calls about how you could’ve easily explained what was going on and how you were never going to be a good guardian if you don’t pick up how dodgy things like that look. A small smile graces your face as you listen, maybe taking Gokudera to the dance would be more fun than expected.

\--  
The weather in Namimori had been happily much more consistent today and as the sun set you felt the lasting rays of warmth leave your room. It’d been a luxuriously quiet evening spent productively finishing school work and reading. Sadly, it didn’t last. Practically kicking down your door and barging into your room came the one and only storm guardian. “Oi, Where’s the baseball freak?!”

He immediately dodges the book you throw at him. “YOU CAN’T JUST WALK INTO A LADYS ROOM!” You shout appalled by the sudden intrusion on your otherwise peaceful evening.  
“It’s not like you count clueless woman! Where’s Yamamoto? You said he comes into your room at night, Where is he?!” he walks over and lifts up your duvet as if expecting to reveal the rain guardian.#  
“He’s not here. Geeez Gokudera-san it’s barely even night time.” You push him away from your bed and onto the floor. 

“If you really don’t believe me you’re welcome to wait and see for yourself.” You grumble, picking up your book off the floor.

“Hey! You can’t just ignore me” he cries from the floor as he notices you settling on the bed.

“Grab a book then, you’ll be here for a while” You didn’t have time to entertain Gokudera when you were trying to get into a new book. You don’t look up but you could hear him grumbling.

“All these are trashy woman books!” He complains.

“If you don’t like it you can bring your own next time” You smirk knowing full well he could never appreciate the nuances of a good ‘woman’ book.  
“What’re you doing with a book like this?” he shouts.

It’s enough of a proper question to draw your attention away from your book. Gokudera is holding a copy of a true to life sci-fi book. You smile as you fondly remember your sister gifting it to you for your birthday. Normally it would be a strange gift to give a kid but the supernatural had always fascinated you. You shared this information with Gokudera. His eyes widening as you did so.

“It’s fine it’s just a little interest.”

“ITS WAY MORE THAN A LITTLE INTEREST! UMAs ARE OUT THERE!”  
You tilt your head, unable to understand his words.

“UMA?”  
You question seemed to open a door with the grey haired guardian as he opened the book and began reading the index flipping through the pages, he eagerly showed you several blurry pictures taken in questionable light. His face lit up when you returned his enthusiasm, remembering all the questions you had as a kid your sister didn’t have answers too.

Like clockwork at 11pm Yamamoto-kun came wandering jankily through your door. You’d both got so caught up in your discussion he caught off guard, however it doesn’t take Gokudera more than a minute to amp up to his usual self.  
“Oi Yamamoto you can’t just go walking into a girls room like this!” Hearing Gokudera repeat exactly what you said two hours ago grants him the biggest eye roll you can muster. As usual Yamamoto was too fast asleep to notice and makes his way to the bed.

“Oi!” Gokudera stands in front of the guardian as if hoping to stop him. Yamamoto stops in his tracks.  
Could Gokudera have actually woken him up? 

“H-Hey what’re you doing baseball freak!” A cry comes from the guardians lips as in one fell swoop Yamamoto crashes onto the bed taking Gokudera with him. “GET OFF ME” comes another pointless cry. You can see the poor guardian struggle and kick from his position pinned underneath Yamamoto massive figure. You’d experienced this so many time it was hilarious to see someone taller and bigger struggle too. 

 

“Teddy-chan” Yamamoto-kun whispered childishly as he wrapped his arms around the smaller grey haired guardian. “IDIOT IM NOT YOUR TEDDY!” Gokudera doesn’t give up and continued thrashing around. Yamamoto seemed to take no notice and continued with his teddy filled dream. You can’t help but smirk as you get up from the bed, turn off the light and whisper “Good night Gokudera”

 

As you close the door you can hear Gokudera calling you all sorts of names under the sun and demanding you return. You ignore it, he needed to experience first-hand just how not promiscuous the situation was. 

It hadn’t occurred to you but you were now unable to return to your own bedroom. This caused a problem. You did however had options. Both Yamamoto and Gokuderas rooms were empty. It seemed only fitting since you’d seen Yamamoto- room that you see Gokuderas too. It’s hard to make anything out in the dark but the layout is basically the same as your own room. Sliding into bed you try to make yourself comfy but something . . . hard keeps moving underneath you. Sliding back out you lift up a corner of the mattress. Underneath is what you can only imagine is thirty somethings packs of dynamite stick all neatly lined up and ready to go. Boy was this gonna be a fun night.  
\--

Today’s hall way patrol feels a little different from the last. For one nobody seems afraid of you, in fact it’s almost like they’re actively trying to get your attention. Students who have been attending Namimori for years suddenly forgetting where their home room is. Other students taking strange detours to show off their perfectly pressed uniform. You even swear one person was walking particularly slowly on their way to class just to get a sweet for not running in the halls. Secondly teachers and staff all seemed to pay a bit more attention to you in class, which was a nice touch. “My, my” one of the staff members commented “You’re like a little angel in our halls.”  
You liked that thought. Hopefully with a little hard work people would stop being so scared of the Disciplinary Committee,You didn’t think any more of the comment until you returned to class.

“Ohh ohhhh here she comes!” the whole class turned around to look at you. “the Angel of Namimori Disciplinary Committee!” A small crowd begins to form around you.  
“Hey Angal-san isn’t my uniform clean!” one calls.

“No over here look how short my hair is now, it’s exactly the length in the Namimori guidelines!”. The crowd continues to call out, only separating once Gokudera pushed his way to the front and shouts at everyone for causing a ruckus.

“Tch woman you’re make such a riot” You note he looks tired and can’t resist commenting. It’s enough to shut him up before he gets any ideas about lecturing you.  
“Hey, isn’t Gokudera-san the one taking Angel-san to the dance?” One student pipes up. 

“Oh yeah” another replies “That’s probably why he’s so jealous we’re crowding her!” The two laugh and you can’t help but notice Gokudera trying hard to suppress his rage. As if by some witchcraft a tannoy announcement interrupts calling for you to meet in the disciplinary meeting room. You have no idea what it’s about but you can already feel yourself wincing as you recall the last time you were summoned. 

To your relief it seems all the other committee members are present. The meeting isn’t long, in fact without Kyoya everyone seems a little more at ease. There’s only one point that catches your attention. You’re been signed up to chaperon the dance. You didn’t want to speak up and be seen as disrespectful. Upon listening further, it seemed only a handful of committee members had been chosen.

“I-if I could be so rude” you interrupt. “I’ve only been on the committee for a week now, are you sure . . . certain people would be okay with having me chaperon?” If anything was done without Kyoya approval no doubt there would be consequences.  
One of the committee members answers your question. “You weren’t originally going to be on, but the schools been a buzz about the angel of the disciplinary committee” She smiles proudly.” We think if you’re there more people will behave and enjoy themselves” the rest of the committee nod in agreement. Well you can’t argue with that you reply. Now just how to break the news to Gokudera.


	6. The Angel of Namimori (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera definitely doesn't care about you, at all

 

All in all, attending a high school dance alone was pretty humiliating. It’d been fine when Juidame had been around, with Gokudera more than pleased to show him how to properly dance; the righthand-man excited to have a mini training session with his boss. But then Lawn Head had shown up with the baseball freak, Kyoko and Haru and Hana and the whole thing had turned into some kind of hippie mosh pit of flailing arms and offbeat bouncing.

Gokudera could see you were having a slightly more pleasant time. Some of your newly acquired fans making up invisible excuses to talk to you, some even working up the nerve to ask you to dance. You’d politely turned them down under the watchful eye of the bastard Prefect, who - despite constantly proclaiming his hatred for crowds- kept showing up every 10 minutes, making it impossible for anyone to have a conversation with you. Not that he _wanted_ to talk to you or anything.

It was a struggle to find an empty bathroom but when he was finally able to pull out the flask he kept snug against his pocket, Gokudera felt like it was a reward for his efforts. Japan had a strange idea about “ _minimum drinking age_ ” which meant he had to ask his sister to bring some over. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was sweet enough to mix in with the overpoweringly syrupy punch being served without giving itself away. Pouring half into his cup, he promised he’d pace himself; he wanted to make tonight easier, not embarrass himself in front of Juidame.

As he exits, he spots you on the floor, leaning against the adjoining wall. You give him a strange smile as you make eye contact.

“You following me?!” he asks, a little more rudely than he meant. You shake your head a laugh a little, tousling your hair.

“Boss’s right-hand man suddenly wanders off to the other side of the building in the middle of a party and you expect me not to worry?” you ask, making no attempt to move from the floor.

“It’s fine, Yamamoto-kun and Ryohei-senpai are there to keep an eye on him if something happens,” you follow up, a statement Gokudera very much doubts. Not that they weren’t in fact guardians and keen to take care of Juidame, but he’d be surprised if they had more than two brain cells to rub together if an attack came down.

“It, uh . . . it was getting a little crowded in there,” you finally admit, looking almost apologetic.

 Gokudera takes a seat on the floor with you before he can stop himself. He puts his cup beside yours, creating a small physical barrier, convincing himself that it _technically_ means he’s not sitting next to you.

“It’s your fault for being so nice to everyone. And don’t go leaving Juidame with those idiots,” he scolds, focusing his eyes on the wall opposite him. Refusing to let his eyes wander over the dress he’s just seen up close for the first time, noticing how beautifully it fit your figure.

You’re about to say something when the distinct clicking of pristine shoes echoes up the hallway. The look of immediate fear in your eyes tells him it’s probably Hibari.

“We should go.” you say a little too quickly as you pick up a cup and push up from the floor. Gokudera grumbles but decides not to argue. Juidame is probably already missing him, being left at the mercy of those two idiots.

As Gokudera continues to watch the mind-numbing display of dancing that is his group he can’t help but wonder why his drink tastes so normal. No hint of sharp after taste that normally comes with booze-tinted drinks, let alone with half a flask poured into them. He takes another sip, swirling it round his mouth, searching for some sign of liquor. Nothing.

Slowly, he realises it isn’t his cup, the small mark of lipstick on the far side being a dead giveaway he somehow missed.

His first thought is to head back to the bathroom and top himself up, but another thought interrupts that. He can see you out the corner of his eye, swaying slightly, movements a little too easy as he watches you nearly trip over your own feet. “Fucking idiot.” he mumbles to himself as he parts his way through the crowd.

“Gokkuuuudera-kunnnn.” You grin childishly as he approaches you. “How’s bossss?” you manage through elongated vowels.

“Juidame is fine.” He pauses watching as your eyes move in and out of focus.

“Did you finish my drink?” he asks, emphasising his irritation. How clueless do you have to be to not notice alcohol in your drink? You hold up the cup in your hand and promptly tip it upside down, letting a single drop drip from its rim.

“I finished my drink?” you seem confused. “It tasted funny, though.” you say as you sway on your feet slightly, eyes sliding over the view behind him.

He rolls his eyes. You’d drank the whole thing and barely noticed _._ Carefully, he takes your arms and leads you to the dance floor. If Hibari sees you, you’ll be in trouble and there’s no way he’s letting Juidame see you like this. Gokudera links your arms over his shoulders and rests his hands cautiously by your waist. He’ll look after your drunk ass, not because he _cared_ about you or anything stupid like that, but for Juidame.

He asks if this is your first time drinking and you look at him likes he’s a complete idiot.

“Noooooo, god, Gokudera-kun you’re supposed to be a genius.” you say attempting to swat him playfully. “How would I be alive if I’d never drunk?”

Gokudera takes a deep breath and huffs bitterly. If he thought you were annoying sober, drunk you was gonna be a whole ‘nother challenge.

“Just stay close and try not to make a spectacle of yourself okay?!” he chides. Gokudera is surprised when you nod and lean yourself against him.

“Everything’s kind of . . .  spinning,” you whisper back, arms tightening behind him as your hands cling to his shoulders. “I think I’ve been poisoned.” Gokudera has to bite his tongue to hold back a snide comment.

You ask if he’s poisoned you through slow, mumbled words as you pull yourself closer to his chest, legs shifting like two foreign pins attached to your body as you seemingly struggle to match his movements. Gokudera slows to a simple sway, pushing down the echoing thuds of his heart as he realises how close he’s dancing with you.

“It would make sense,” you mumble as you pull back to give him what he thinks is supposed to be a hard stare through glazed eyes. “Bianchi for one, Dr Shamal for another. You’d have the means.” Gokudera tries to convince himself there’s nothing adorable about the suspicious drunk look on your face.

You continue as he dances with you, or rather holds you and pretends to dance, listing all the ways he could poison you. How easy it would be for you to entrust Shamal with his array of experimental drugs. Gokudera is about to interrupt when you mention his hairstyle, going on about how so many people thought you’d copied Dr Shamal and how you were _soo_ glad he hadn’t picked up any of the older man’s flirting habits.

Gokduera has to keep himself from snorting when you tell him an anecdote about trying to do business with the doctor while he was attempting to chat up multiple waitresses at the same time. You let yourself lean into him, resting your forehead on his shoulder, mumbling something about the room still spinning, and Gokudera ignores the strange warm feeling in the core of his body. “Just keep dancing with me, you’ll be okay.” he says in a manner so low and soft that he isn’t sure it’s his at first. “Gokudera-kun?” you whisper as you list your head, lips so close to his ear he can feel the heat of your breath against his skin. “Everything’s kinda-“

You don’t finish your sentence as your head slumps against Gokuderas shoulder. _Oh shit, oh shit!_ Feeling the panic pulse through his body, he pulls your head back, gracelessly shoving his ear next to your mouth to check for signs of breathing.

He moves off after a few seconds; you are breathing. You’d fallen asleep on his shoulder in the middle of a crowded noisy dance floor. Fuck, you really were clueless.

Gokudera manages to sneak you back to the Vongola house, throwing you over his shoulder as soon as he clears the party. But he’s just taking you home and then he’s heading back. _That’s it_.

You look peaceful as he rolls you off onto the bed, rubbing his shoulder and mumbling something about you being all too heavy for your size. You don’t hear him and instead sleepily curl yourself around one of your pillows. Gokudera lectures himself; you’re safe home – no doubt due to wake up with a raging hangover, but safe none the less- and he can go back. He doesn’t owe you anything. He can definitely leave you here to drunkenly fall asleep.

But his body has other ideas as his hand reaches forward to stroke the hair out of your face.

“Gokudera-kun?” you say as you open your eyes before he can touch you. “What’re you doing?”

“Nothing! Fuck, I wasn’t about to touch your hair or anything, geez woman, get a grip!” he shouts, nearly jumping out his skin at your sudden lucidness.

You’re either too drunk or too tried to process his response, rolling over and tucking yourself under the blanket. Mentally, Gokudera scolds himself for being such an idiot and heads back to the party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also major thank you to the people leaving Kudos and bookmarks, it's really encouraging <3


	7. The Eye of the Storm (Gokudera)

Waking up with a determination you knew you had to thank Gokudera for his action. Even if it meant following him around all day you were going to make it up to him. You knew just how to do it.

Following your usual routine, you remembered you had been demoted to detention after the previous night’s incidents. You had planned on talking Gokudera but he had been avoiding you all day. You could go home try again but you didn’t want to risk pissing off Kyoya any more than you already had.

The detention room hadn’t changed. It was still as creepy as you remembered. There was a small note left on the desk at the front of the room. It was a list of students attending detention that day. There was only one name on the list. Gokudera Hayato. Reason; spiking the punch at school dance and starting several fights in the process. This could be your opportunity. Before long the door to the detention room opens and in walks the quick-tempered guardian.

“Oh come on!” he yelled as he threw his bag down onto the desk. “Are you following me clueless woman?!”   
You took a deep breath and explained you’ve been put on detention duty for the foreseeable future and that if Gokudera wanted to, he could take it up with Kyoya-senpai. He seemed to quieten down at the thought of having to get the menacing head disciplinary committee member involved. He took his seat grumbling the whole time. He made no further conversation and instead stared out the window trying to ignore you.

Cautiously you walked over and perched on the end of the desk opposite him. “Gokudera, I never got a chance to thank you.” His head didn’t move but you could see his fists clench.  
“It’s nothing” he mumbled.

You smiled a little reaching out your hand. “Thank you for catching me when I fell. I don’t remember much but Yamamoto-kun told me you took me to the infirmary and brought me books to keep me company.” He still didn’t move. You guessed he would need a bit more prompting.   
“Sooo I thought I’d return the favour.” 

You reached into you bag and pulled out a well worn Sci-fi book.   
“You dog eared some pages, I thought maybe you’d like a chance to finish.”

 

You laid the book down on the table as a peace offering, holding your breath for his reaction. Still avoiding eye contact he pulled the book into him and opened it up at the first dog eared page. He didn’t say anything but you figured it was a good start. You pulled out your own book and shimmed the desk you were on closer to his. He didn’t flinch or move but you could see his body move slightly to face you. There was 2 hours of detention to go, plenty of time to get comfortable and work up to conversation. 

An hour passed by and still no word or acknowledgement from the storm guardian. You looked up seeing an almost peaceful look on his face. As if he’s completely absorbed in his book. It struck you that you liked Gokudera best like this. Arguing and winding him up was fun but something about this moment, similar to when he was waiting in your room for Yamamoto, was a so peaceful and intimate. The contrast between the two personalities was so extreme, like the eye of a storm you knew it couldn’t last. 

 

You prod him gently, asking him what he thought of the book. He took a moment to react as if remembering where he was. To your surprise he responded, quite well actually. He noted that while the book covered abductions they failed to present any real thesis on what was out there or make any connection between the abductions, which ANY good sci-fi book should do. 

This then brought him into a whole topic about how if you tracked all abductions in the past 10 years there must be some kind of connection or reason to all these situations. Aliens were most likely but what about mutated animals living on the earth with deadly powers?. He seemed so zealous as he lectured you on all the things the books didn’t cover. You found yourself just a little impressed by his passion for the subject. Leaning your head on one hand you continued to stare at the guardian. Thoughts of Gokudera as a cute teacher crept their way into your head and it was an active process not to let them blossom as you watched him cite the pages he had dog eared previously. He must have realised you were staring at him because he stopped mid-sentence.

“What?”   
You laughed as you realised he looks even more like a pissed off teacher, getting mad at one his of students for not paying attention.

“Oi woman, answer me”

“You look like such a teacher!” You laughed unable to keep a straight face.

 

He seemed to take offense to this comment. “Im trying to educate you here idiot!” He looked pissed off but you decided to push it a little further. “Ohhhhh Mr Hayato-kun would you mark my homework?” You said childishly as you waved your book in front of him. This really worked as he jumps onto the desk and pulls out his trademark dynamite sticks. “Take it back!”

“Never!” you cried playfully as you jumped up on the desk next to him and prepared for battle. With ease you manage to knock away his dynamite sticks and dive in for an attack shot. He stepped back to try and avoid you, forgetting momentarily you’re both on top of desks and falling to the floor.

Shit!

You rushed over to the fallen guardian. “Are you okay?” Shaking his shoulder didn’t seem to do anything. You crouched over him listening for any signs of breathing. “G-g-g” A small sound comes from his mouth. You encouraged him to speak. 

“Get off me woman.”   
You laughed and rolled off the wounded guardian. “I win” you declared happily.

“You can’t just go around fighting people like that idiot” 

“Like you’re one to talk! You replied as you give him a gentle knock on the shoulder.

“Are we always gonna end up fighting” He groaned moping a little.

You turned to look him in the eyes. 

“Would you have it any other way?”

You smiled and offered him a hand up. Noticing the time, you ask if Gokudera would like a round two. He declined saying something about not wanting to fight a clueless idiot.

“Same time tomorrow?” you joked

“Geez woman do you ever give up?” he grumbled as he walks out the door.


	8. Library Secrets (Yamamoto)

The library club was a much smoother interview, in fact calling it an interview was generous. The actual head of the library club had graduate and really the librarian just wanted someone to supervise on her days off, as she put it. 

The library was your favourite kind. Old, well kept and full. The dark wooden book shelves towering above you boasting books of every size and topic. You could spend the rest of your life here you thought as you settled into one of the worn wooden study desks all lined up. The library was pretty much empty as would be expected on the first few weeks of term, you imagined the job would get busier as exams approached but for now you would savour the stillness.

\--  
He had been leaving, he had been ready to head home after practice, but then he caught sight of you. 

Through the window he could see you, a load of books clutched to your chest as you practically floated around the library, a gentle immersive smile on your face as you slotted books back onto their old wooden shelves, the sparkle in your eyes radiating as you read over the title of every book as if cherishing them dearly. The look of care and pure joy on your face made his own heart skip a beat.

Something on a shelf had caught your attention. You’d stopped, straining on your tiptoes as gracefully as possible, fingertips pawing at a book just out of reach.   
It wasn’t until one of his team mates knocked his shoulder he realised he’d been staring. They teased him loudly, asking if he was interested in the angel of Namimori. He rubbed the back of his head, all too eager to interject that you were just friends. He excused himself, saying he needed to go help you.

 

They were just teasing, he knew that. You were friends, that was all. It was normal for friends to look at each other, It wasn’t that he was staring, he was just . . . thinking he should help you with whatever it was you were reaching for, as a friend.

You were in the same spot when he found you, a daring knee on one of the shelves, unsteadily trying to push yourself up just a little higher.

“Need a hand?” He offered, easily reaching for the book.

You’d let out a loud yelp and grabbed onto him as you nearly lost your balance, your hand clinging for dear life to his arm.  
“Yamamoto-kun!”

He laughed, you were adorable when caught off guard. 

“T-thank you.” Politely you took the book from him and awkwardly let go of his arm.

“Can I help you?” You smiled, fixing an imaginary crease in your uniform.

“Ah actually you could.” Suddenly the idea that he’d come all this way to help you grab a book was a little strange, little weird, he didn’t want you getting the same idea his team mates had, he needed a cover and fast.

“I need a book!” He grinned, proud of his on the spot excuse.

It seemed to strike a chord with you to as an easy smile came over your face and you seemed to relax a little. “Of course, What kind of book were you looking for?”

“Uh . . .” he rubbed the back of his head nervously, suddenly unable to recall what books were.  
His eyes drifted over his surroundings only for them to settle on his team mates, still standing at the window where he’d left them. They were chanting something? Cheering on someone? He recognised the look in their eyes from games, the pumping fists and keen facial expressions. They were saying his name, cheering him on. 

 

It struck him at once, they were cheering him on with you. They were cheering for him to talk to you. One was indicating for him to put his arm around you, another gesturing wildly he should touch your cheek.

The thoughts filled his mind, red rushing to his cheeks as they did. Eye contact became impossible, you were saying something to him, asking if he was okay. He had to put his hand on your shoulder to stop you turning around to see the encouragement of his team mates.

“Baseball! I need a book on baseball!” He practically grabbed your arm as he dragged you away from their view. You’d looked so confused, after a few seconds prompting him that the sports section was in fact in the other direction. 

 

You were incredibly diligent, piling books into his arms. Theory, history, techniques, pitching strategies. He could have watched you all day, flitting between shelves, skimming blurbs and sorting through categories, so excited, so focused. 

It was only when he noticed several of his team mates watching from behind a nearby shelf that he interrupted you. Politely indicating that perhaps it would be better to go somewhere that he could read the books. You’d beamed at that, leading him to several reading spots throughout the library. He chose the most secluded one, a large sofa wedged at the back of the library, view obscured by several zig zagged book shelves. 

His team mates however did not take the hint. You’d noticed them, but as soon as you’d started towards them they’d vanished.

He could hear a small sigh escape your lips as you returned to the sofa.

He smiled wanting to cheer you up. 

You shook your head. “I guess some students are still scared of the disciplinary committee huh?”  
He breathed an internal sigh of relief, happy that was your reasoning for their departure.

“How is the disciplinary committee?” He asked, wanting to start up a conversation now you were alone ,as a friend.

You’d perched on the arm of the sofa, book on your lap. “It’s good, I think tricking people with sweets has been a big move to stop everyone being so scared.” You paused.  
“Even if the nickname is a little uh . . .sweet.”  
Personally, he liked the nickname, Angel, Angel-chan. He said it out loud, experimenting with how it felt in his mouth.

“Hey, if you’re our snow guardian and the angel of Namimori does that make you a snow angel?”

You groaned, playfully swatting him with your book. “Yamamoto, That’s terrible.” You’d said but the smile on your face was undeniable. 

“Besides I’m only your temporary snow guardian.”

That caught his attention.

“Temporary?”

“I’m just filling in for my sister. She’s the one the Vongola wanted but . . .” You paused, toying with your fingers. “she’s been missing for a few years so it’s my responsibility to step in until she’s found.” 

The look on your face changed, an almost reminiscent sadness in your eyes replacing the usual bright sparkle. He felt like he was approaching a topic very close to you.

“How did she go missing?”

That questions stilled you, fingers changing to clenched fists. After a long pause you tried to answer.

“They . . . she . . . in the middle of the night”

You were staring at your lap, body shaking slightly, head tilted down hiding your emotions from him.   
He’d just wanted to see you, to understand what you were feeling. His hand reached out to tilt your chin.  
You shook your head, as if denying him the action, as if denying him the question, as if shaking some painful memory, you didn’t want to resurface. All at once he felt he’d crossed a line.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered, wanting you to understand it hadn’t been his intention to upset you. He could see a small tear roll off your cheek.  
“It’s okay . . . “ You had whispered back, head still averted from his gaze as you got up and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day! This ones building up a little to your backstory and oh by get ready for a train ride in the next update! <3


	9. The Hooded Figure (Gokudera, Varia Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera has no idea how to deal with feelings. Cannon divergence from Varia Arc hope you enjoy <

 Something was wrong. As you walked up the stairs you sensed it. A different vibe. Something was off. The door to your room. As you stepped onto the landing you could see the dark wood of the door wasn’t flush with the frame. Upon further inspection the lock hadn’t been broken but whoever had got in had either been in a hurry or stupid enough to leave the door ajar. . . or maybe they hadn’t left. You began reaching behind your back to draw out your staff.

 “Oi clueless woman!” a familiar voice shouted at you before had a chance to draw. You cringed. If someone was still in there you’d just lost the element of surprise.

“What?” You reply in an irritated hushed tone keeping one hand hovering over you staff in case.

“What?! You nearly shove me down the stairs and you wanna ask _what_?!” He looks more pissed by your cluelessness.

“You stormed up here two minutes ago, not paying attention and nearly throw me down the stairs! Don’t act all innocent idiot! Wearing a stupid hoodie to hide your face doesn’t make it okay either!”

You pause.

 “If I was wearing a hoodie how did you know it was me?” Idiot was just looking for a fight now.

“Tch, I’d know your stupid voice anywhere. After I shouted at you, you told me to get lost.”

That didn’t make any sense. You start to voice this to Gokudera but he keeps rambling. Someone had been in, someone that sounded like you, someone that didn’t want to be seen.

 

No.It couldn’t be.

An emotion you can’t explain took a hold of you as you barged into your room. What if? You scanned round the room. Nothing. You ran out the balcony throwing open the doors. Nothing. You pulled open the wardrobe doors, the door to your bathroom, you looked under the bed, on the bed. In frustration you began pulling open drawers and cabinets doors. Nothing. Was she here? Did you leave you a note? A clue? A hint? She wouldn’t just sneak in and leave. That didn’t make sense.

 

Anger and sadness swelled inside you all at once and crashed over like waves against a rocky shoreline.

“Woman what’re you doing?” A concerned but still loudly aggressive Gokudera followed you into your room. “Where did she go?” You clenched your fists trying to hold back the emotion that was now boiling your body. No reply. You spun round, pulling out your staff you pushing it up against Gokudera necks forcing him against the wall. “WHERE DID SHE GO?”

“W-what?  The person in the hoodie. . . wasn’t you?” he stammers in shock

You don’t have time for his idiocy. “WHERE. DID. SHE. GO?!”

 “I didn’t see. I was going downstairs, she went into your room when I saw her. Get this off me!” He pushed the staff away but you didn’t care anymore.  Your sister was here. Your sister was here and you missed her. Your knees gave way and you sink to the floor. Any anger in your mind had now been replaced with dejection. Bundles of water formed around your eyes pushing their way out and down your cheeks.

You feel a hand on your shoulder. “H-hey.”

 

“Who was that girl?” The storm guardian crouches down to your level his eyes devouring every inch of your face searching for any information as to what was going on in your head.

“It doesn’t matter.” You sputtered out. “Just . . .just leave.” You didn’t want anyone seeing you like this. Broken, distraught, confused. This wasn’t how it should go. If she knew where you were, why didn’t she contact you? Why not stick around?

“Look i-“

“Just GO!” You shoved his hand off your shoulder.

 --

You hadn’t come out of your room at all last night he thought to himself as he got out of bed. Not that he’d slept much. After seeing that clueless woman breakdown right in front of him he’d tossed and turned. Playing over the fleeting interaction with the stranger that shared your voice. He hadn’t found anything conclusive and it would be pointless going to talk to you anyway. As much as the desire tugged on him as he passed your door he refused to act on it. Whatever you were going through, it wasn’t something you’d chosen to share with him. Besides, fragile emotional situations weren’t exactly his forte. He’d probably just mess it up.

The storm guardian raised his head to see the baseball freak exit his room. They greeted each other, one not picking up on the others mood. He asked where you were. He hadn’t heard you last night then either. _Who knew if you were even still in that room?_

“She’s not coming today” The storm guardian replied gruffly pushing past the bright eyed boy.

The confused guardian asked if they should check but he was quickly shut down.

 

The walk to school was silent. Only when both guardians came to the school gate was the silence broken. “You’re late” The cloud guardian was waiting in the court yard. His eyes looked over the both of them as if looking for one more party member.

“Where’s your friend?” The cloud guardian approaches both of them looking displeased.

“She’s off today . . .”

“She had duties today. One of you will have to take over.”

This pissed off the storm guardian. “You can’t make us do that!”

One threatening look from the cloud guardian caused both of them to fear for their lives. “I-It’s okay Hibari-san I can cover her” The rain guardian replied hurriedly before the demonic look on his face got any worse.

The cloud guardian seemed satisfied with this and returned to his post.

How on earth did you deal with that guy he thought as they both continued on their way.

 

Lunch time was no easier.  People bombarded the rain guardian with questions about the missing angel of Namimori committee. Some students dared chance their luck with asking him but a sharp threat of dynamite quickly deterred them. The nights events kept playing in his head. The strange outfit, the familiar voice. A thought hit him like a strike of lightning. Your sister, the one you’d been looking for. How could he have been so fucking stupid?!


	10. The Role of the Snow Guardian (Hibari, Varia Arc)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're his prey

He hadn’t seen you in days, missing school without explanation.  When your name had been called however he’d become eager. Part of him was curious to see you. Not just sparring but fighting. _Really_ fight. To see what you were truly capable of when push came to shove.

He’d missed the start of your fight - running into a group of trouble makers on his way he couldn’t resist taking out- but he was here now. Shoving his way into the balcony that overlooked the swimming pool where your arena was set. The first thing he noticed was the cold. An ice topped electronic board displaying a chill -2 degree Celsius in front of him from a balconied area above the arena. Like before the louder herbivores were present too, standing at the other end staring him down. He could take out all of them right now. Fingers itching over his tonfas as the thought played in his mind.

 

The artificial blizzard made it hard to see what was going on but the large screen in front of the gathered herbivores on his side kept an eye on both you and your opponent. It wasn’t good.

He’d expected you to be quick with it, your usual confidant tactical self. But you were struggling.

The large gash present on your leg was proof of that. He waited, watching casually from the side-lines. Any moment now you’d bounce back, figure out the weakness in this silly herbivores attacks and knock him out. This guy had nothing on him, so why were you struggling? He tuned in towards the other guardians to catch upon your situation.

“It’s too cold, there’s no way she can keep this up!” he heard the grey-haired herbivore shout angrily at the baby, hands on the rail as he strained to see you through the whirlwind of snow.

 He could smell the fear from you. He could feel the quivering of your body as you desperately tried to still yourself. He found himself wanting to lean in a little closer to see if he could hear the whimpers of defeat on your lips – a sound he knew he would savour. But he stopped himself realising it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable if he personally wasn’t pulling those reactions out of you.

He’d never seen you like this before. Movements slow, breathing heavy; a tired frustration on your face as you _just_ rolled out of the way of another attack. It pained him physically. You were _his_ prey, the look of fear in your eyes was something only he was supposed to draw out of you.

Another attack connected with your body that brought you to your knees. The red from the wound on your leg contrasting wickedly with the snow around you. How the herbivore was landing his long-range attacks through the snow was something he couldn’t fathom and that annoyed him further. You seemed to be struggling to make out even the space in front of you.

You began shovelling snow in front of you. Making a small mound to hide you form. It worked for a moment. The herbivore wildly throwing attacks around hoping to hit. You weren’t moving though. Just lying there, panting.  Your body slowly curling up in the cold into a self-contained ball.

 

This was ridiculous. If anyone was going to end you it would be him. Gripping his tonfa he advanced toward the edge of the balcony ready to show that herbivore just how it should be done. Several hands stopped him as he started to hike over the railing.

 “Hibari-san!” the small herbivore had shouted. The bigger of the hands pushing him back over to the safe side of the balcony

“You can’t jump in there to help her!” He shoved off the hands that held him back.

“Who said anything about helping.” He answered bitterly annoyed they would think he’d be inclined to do something so stupid.

It was the baby who stepped in, blocking his route to the arena. “Hibari-san, if you jump in you won’t get to join the fight.” He paused at that. The baby understanding his motivations, he held back. “If you jump in it’s over and you won’t get to fight anyone.”

He paused and nodded. The baby made a fair point. Even if it did mean watching someone else toy with you the way he wanted to. Watch someone else bring you to your knees, someone else draw out sharp gasps as they got to you, someone else causing you to pant, twist and cry in pain, to dominate you completely.

He leant against the far wall refusing to give away any sign of his frustration. You better not die here, because if you did he would bite you to death.

\--

You were still in your ball when the next attack hit. It was meters from you. You’d rolled away again, but something was different, where you’d been there was a small hole in the ice below the snow. It was only on the screen for a split second while the camera caught up with you but it was there.

The Vongola family stood silent in the spectator platform. Eyes glued to the screen, it hadn’t looked good for a while. The odds were stacked against their snow guardian who was injured, cold and quickly losing blood. Finding cover had been helpful but it wouldn’t win you the match or keep you alive.

The giant screen televising the middle of the snow storm hadn’t been able to locate you for a while, which meant you were well hidden. Then, seemingly out of nowhere your voice was heard. The camera zoomed in on your now visible shaking form. Without hesitation you began charging in the direction of your opponent.

“What’s that clueless woman doing?” The storm guardian yelled. He turned to look at the baby Mafioso but Reborn’s face remained unchanged.

“One more hit and she’s done!” the Vongola boss whispered, concerned that another one of his family would suffer grave injury. It was true, your movements were slow. Even as you charged your gate faltered. You drew your staff ready to hit.

It missed and painfully slammed into the ground meters away. Your movements were slow and easily predicated by even those watching. you went again, jumping this time and slamming your staff down. Again, it missed and a visible wince rippled across the spectators as the miss costs you. The Varia guardian jumping away swinging his weapon to make a direct hit to your body.

“Stop! Reborn she can’t keep going!” The 10th cried looking at reborn.

“Tsuna, this is her choice. You can’t interrupt or we lose the match and the challenge.” The fedora donned baby replies.

“Do you know the role of the snow guardian Tsuna?”

“N-no.”

“The role of the snow guardian is the level the playfield. Like snow erases and consumes all difference so must the snow guardian neutralise an enemy’s advantage and eradicate any disadvantages to the team. Right now, she’s figured out that her opponent struggles with close range combat and so is trying to close the gap, removing any advantage he has when attacking from far away. It’s an effective strategy.” He paused lowering his head so the shadow of his hat hid his eyes. “If she can keep it up.”

The screen showed the two guardians now in a cycle of close and far. Every time the you closed the gap the other would break away and hit back.

“H-hang on!” Gokudera shouted. “She’s pushing him into a corner. Look!” Sure enough, every time you moved the Varia guardian is pushed into a tighter circle leading to the corner of the arena. “She’s got a plan!” The Vongola boss smiled.

As if hearing their cries, the Varia guardian suddenly changes direction. Slamming his weapon into the spot where he would have been. The weapon didn’t make contact but lands in front of you of you, only just quick enough to realise the change. Sliding behind the weapon the camera briefly loses sight of you. Only to refocus on the black hoodie a little further to the right. “I’ve got you now!” comes a cry as the Varia member launched down throwing his weapon towards the hoodie. He hits his target, the figure crumbling beneath him. Confusion strikes over the opponent as the person beneath him seemingly falls apart. “What the?”

A loud cracking sound echoes through the arena and the Varia opponent disappears into the ground.

An audible gasp fills the spectator platform.

“Oi! What happened?” The storm guardian shouted at the pink haired woman.

She stares up at the screen then draws her finger to her ear as if receiving instructions.

“If neither guardian can be found they will both be disqualified.” She replies coldly.

The news appears to distress the family  as they run to the edge of the platform and begin calling your name.

It was the cloud guardian who is the first to notice a figure emerge from the same spot the Varia opponent had disappeared. “Herbivores” he said nodding to the screen.

It was the body of the Varia snow guardian but it moved abnormally as it flopped onto the surface.

Behind it was a hand, a hand holding the completed Vongola ring. Dripping wet and shaking the Vongola snow guardian appeared, clawing your way out of some kind of snow lined hole. You smiled, weakly holding up the completed Vongola ring to the camera.

“The winner is The Vongola family!” came the announcement.

The smile doesn’t leave your face as you roll over on the ice, panting. “I did it” you whispered before succumbing to the cold that had finally penetrated your entire body.


	11. The Cold Hard Truth (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hibari tries not to worry about you so much

 

They had said a few hours, but that had been a day ago. Your body had been ice cold when they’d retrieved you – purple and blue lining your fingers, lips, legs everywhere he dared to look as they carried you to the Vongola Med wing. Not that his face showed an ounce of the worry that was playing out in his head.

They’d refused to let him wrap your hoodie around you. Something about over heating a hypothermic body causing blood vessel collapse. He’d zoned out after that. Herbivores coming and going in a blur of noise. He’d eventually kicked everyone out the room that he didn’t deem ‘necessary’ as he tried to calm himself – trying _not_ to think about the agonisingly slow silent moments between each beep on the heart monitor that made his stomach lurch with unease.

Your whole body was slow. The rise and fall of your chest languorous, only visible if he kept his eyes trained on you. He _had_ to keep his eyes trained on you. If anything were to happen to you. . . if you didn’t wake up.

He refused to focus on that possibility. You were stronger than this. A little cold. That was all it was. You’d warm up soon. Your heart rate would increase, your wounds would heal and you’d be back up for him to fight in no time. He left that thought carry him as he sat back in the worn chair by your bedside.

As he did he noticed the fingers on your left hand twitch slightly and in that second he was by your bed. Staring at you. Taking in every inch of your body for another sign of consciousness. He was rewarded when your lips parted slightly. A word in a language he doesn’t understand. And again. Shaky and impressionable but there all the same.

“What?” His voice comes out in its usual stern cold tone. He’s incredibly proud it doesn’t give away the worry bubbling over him.

“Cold.” Is the word you chose, almost a plea on your lips as your hands move around for something to hold to. Something to anchor you to your reality as your eyes flickered but refused stay open. Slight shivers traveling over your body.

Without a second thought he took your hand, holding it between both of his and raising it to his lips letting a deep breath encircle your frozen fingers.

It’s effective. Your other hand reaching round to join the warming collective. The beautiful look of comfort on your face as your body begins to subconsciously drift towards him. Legs brought up, body curling around captured hands. _Body heat_. Body heat was what you needed.

 

Before he could finish taking his shirt off the herbivores were back. Eye contact was made and for some reason the tallest of the herbivores was laughing and casually man handling his shirt back on in an all too friendly manner. He was about to draw his tonfas and re-kick everyone out when you spoke.

“Boss?” You managed. Despite your eyes opening your words were still weak, sheer determination making them audible. “Ahhh are you okay? The doctors said you’d be up soon.”

Your nod is slow but purposeful. “I’m really cold though. Is the window open?” It’s a cute statement he thinks to himself as he resists rolling his eyes. If the tall herbivore would just _let him go_ he could sort that problem for you. He pulls his shoulders from under the herbivores hands and resists the urge to throw everyone out.

 “JUST WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING” The delinquent herbivore shouts and there’s a notable screwing of your face as he does so. “Shhhhhh, Gokudera-kun please.” You drag your hand over your face as if trying to scrape up the patience to deal with his loud over active mouth.

“WE WER- we thought we’d lost you” he replies, correcting his volume. “I know, I know.” You mumble trying to pull up the blankets at the end of your bed, body moving but eyes still slightly unfocused.

He pauses as if expecting something more. When you don’t reply he starts up again, a lower volume but just as annoying. “What the fuck happened in there?” Kyoyas grumbles, as if it wasn’t obvious how you took out that stupid herbivore. At least, he thinks it’s obvious. It takes him a moment to realise he’s keen to hear you explain it too. Not because he was didn’t know just for confirmation ,naturally.

You groan a little as you recall the fight. Fingers rubbing the bridge of your nose as you drew your knees into your chest. “ The arena was made of ice right? Above the swimming pool. So I uh . . . I kind of cheated.” A slow smile rakes across your lips as your brain comes to full focus and you recall your moment of inspiration mid fight. A smile that Kyoya thinks looked wonderfully like his own battle ready smirk.

The herbivores listen intently with him. “Half way through I realised the ice around the Varia guardian was melting. He wasn’t slowing down either. His attacks were so fast it was reasonable to assume he was actively generating heat and didn’t feel the cold.”

“So you put two and two together” the delinquent nods. “The thinning ice and your opponents lack of time to adapt to the cold made him pass out when he hit the water. Using your missed attacks to push him into a weakened area of ice.”

“Bingo!” you reward him with a proud smile. “Not too shabby for a clueless woman.”

 “Wait, how come you were able to go in the water without being shocked?” The smallest herbivore questioned.

The baby steps in for that one.“She used the opponents advantage against him. The Varia guardian hadn’t felt the cold due to his fast movement. Our fighters body had been slowly adjusting to the temperature throughout the whole match. Albeit involuntarily.”

“Ah! Then when she disappeared, she snuck into one of the already formed weak points to get in the water and used her staff and hoodie as a distraction!” Interrupted the herbivore behind him. If they didn’t stop talking soon he’d kick them all out again. This was far too much noise for you to be properly recovering.

You turn to the smallest herbivore. The one you fondly called boss a soft chuckle in your voice. “Looks like you’re stuck with me for the next while.” He smirked to himself a little. You’d recovered. You were lucid and humouring herbivores with your kindness. Satisfied and done with all the loud noise he quietly left you to your Vongola reunion.

\--

He didn’t attend the celebration party but he watched you, pleased you were sticking around. More opportunities for some score settling he told himself.


	12. Valentines Day (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Gokudera realizes just how accurate the name clueless woman really is

It didn’t occur to you until you walked into class that today was anything special. As usual you’d only been half been paying attention to the mornings conversation, low blood pressure was a bitch. Your injuries from the previous fight not quite fully recovered yet.

Your usually neat and tidy classroom was cluttered with tiny pink hearts, chocolate boxes, flowers, cards. It overflowed so much that several items had fallen to the floor to make room for new ones. And it _smelled._ Particularly the cheap plastic, synthetic flowers and chocolate invasively wafting up your nose. The biggest offending item, a large heart shaped card sticking out with the words “Will you be my valentine Angel-chan?”. That nickname had really come back to bite. Before you had a chance to address the pile of _love_ on your desk you hear a voice behind you.

 “Angel-chan?” You vaguely recognise the upperclassman from your hall monitoring standing in the red and pink decorated doorway. “Ah I’m sorry, I’m not on duty today senpai.” You bow politely. “N-no t-that’s not it.” He looks away sheepishly. “I’d like to c-c-confess!” A moment of silence passes as you try to figure out what your senpai means.

“Ah, did you break a rule? And you want to confess?” A small laugh parting your lips as you try to ease the situation, leaning back on your desk. “I’m very sorry but the disciplinary committee doesn’t take confessions like that.” The boy looks frustrated by your response, approaching you apprehensively . “I . . .i want to confess I have feelings for you!”

You tilt your head, even more confused. Everybody has feelings for people, had he perhaps been mean to you and wanted to apologise? Before you could work it out Gokudera interrupted crudely. “He’s saying he fancies you, clueless woman!” It's a rough comment that makes both of you feel more awkward through its bluntness.

 “Oh uh, Thank you senpai but I um . . . I uh . . .don’t return the feeling?” You bow again just to be sure what you’ve said comes across as polite, turning down confessions wasn’t exactly on your list of phrases to learn before coming to japan. You’d never turned down anyone before, it was a little confusing. “I u-understand.” The dejected upperclassman leaves quietly taking his card with him.

Gokudera laughs. “Don’t let this get to your head woman.” He leans over in his chair and flicks off one of the plastic hearts on your desk. It bounces almost comically at your feet across the wood floor. You force a laugh awkwardly. “I feel bad, he got me all these gifts.” You look at the mountain of pink and red junk on your desk and sigh - deciding it would only be polite to leave it at the back of the classroom until school was over. Before you even get a chance to pick something up another voice calls you attention. A young student is asking Gokudera if you received his gift. Gokudera grumpily tells him to get lost, much to the student’s dismay.

“Oi, clueless woman. I’m not spending all day fielding your hopeless groupies!”

“You’re just jealous you don’t have any” your reply playfully trying to hide your embarrassment. “I get valentines!” he snaps now turning his full attention to you. Childishly you stick out your tongue. Two valentines were more than you’d ever gotten in your life but you weren’t going to tell him that. Although it did worry you that either those two students had bought you all those presents or you had a lot more confessions coming.

 

By lunch time the situation had become insufferable. You’d missed your entire break period due to the number of people deciding to confess. Each one seemingly keener that the next. You even worked out civil generic response, polite enough to not hurt anyone’s feelings but direct enough you didn’t have to spend half an hour consoling them. “Sorry I’m not accepting confessions today.”

Normally you’d try to be a bit politer but at this point people had started interrupting class to bring you things and confess. Retreating into the comforting dark of the empty science lab you settled down in the corner and opened your bento box. At last some peace.

You spoke too soon as across the tannoy comes a loud announcement for you to go to the newspaper club after school as a representative of the disciplinary committee. The request puzzles you but there was no way you were leaving this spot to go outside and ask why, people were outside. _So, so many people._

 

“Oi, clueless woman you can’t go hiding in here.” Gokuderas voice rings out in the darkness of the lab. You practically knock him over and drag him inside, being sure to close the door. “Shh!”

“Woman, you can’t just hide from all those love-struck idiots. This is your fault for being so nice to everyone!” He’s mean but you appreciate he’s at least scolding you in a slight whisper. “Gokudera-kun it’s been going on ALL DAY. I’ve said the phrase I’m sorry I’m not accepting confessions today so many times its practically my entire vocabulary now!” You fumble and find his hand in the darkness. “Can you _please_ not tell anyone I’m here.”

He pauses.

“Tch” is his only reply. You smile taking it as a reluctant disguised yes. “Look I’ll even share my bento with you. You probably need a break from all your adoring fangirls too right?” You put your bento box into his open hand and use your chopsticks to force feed him a piece of nigri.

He has to grab your hand to stop you accidently stabbing his face in the dark and provide some guidance. “Good?” you ask tentatively trying to gauge his reaction. “Whatever.” is the only response you're granted. His hand doesn’t leave yours though and it strikes you that perhaps for some reason he doesn’t want it to. Gently, so that his hand can follow yours, you pick up another piece from your bento box and feed it to him. With your hand resting on his face you can feel his cheeks are warm.

“Gokudera are you okay?” If he was running a fever it’d be better to get him some more food to help fight it. “I’m fine.” The long pause afterwards tells you otherwise. “Is it true . . .what you said? He asks, his voice a little concerned and you consider there’s a hint of dejection in there too. “That you’re not accepting confessions today?”

You laugh a little. “It’s not that. Most of these people . . . they haven’t even met me! I’ve only been here a few months” You pause, not wanting to go on a rant. “They don’t . . . really know me? For example, Gokudera-kun, you know I’m super lazy in the mornings and that I love reading. A confession from someone who knows you is worth like . . .a thousand confessions from people who I’ve never even met.” You laugh. “Besides isn’t it supposed to be white day when the men give gifts?”

The joke lands flat as Gokudera doesn’t laugh or reply at all. You fiddle your hand up the edge of his jaw pretending to lift his cheeks to make him smile. It doesn’t work but something shifts in his face. Cautiously he takes your hand and intertwines his coarse battle worn fingers. They stroke yours in a manner more gentle than you thought possible from someone so rough. You feel his face move closer to yours, the smell of smoke and gunpowder lingering just in front of you.

Taking his cue you put another piece of nigiri in his mouth. He pulls back instantly , untangling your hand. “What the hell woman!” He sputters through a mouth full of fish.

“You wanted another piece of sushi?” you say a little confused by his sudden outburst. ”Fuck, how’re you THIS CLUELESS?!” he shouts, forgetting about your deal as he gets up and abruptly slams the door upon his exit.

 _What the hell was that about?!._ You sigh, as long as he didn’t give up your hiding spot you could be safe. After finishing your bento, you vote in favour of skipping class and staying incognito until school is over and most of the students were gone.


	13. Confessions of the Namimori Heartbreakers (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say, what's in this drink?

He’d been waiting outside the Newspaper club room for no particular reason really, just he’d noticed you hadn’t arrived yet and figured it would be rude to go in without you. It’s a good move and he catches your bright smile as you saunter down the stairs towards him. He knows it’s goofy smile on his own face when he greets you with the biggest hug he can manage without crushing you completely. It’d been an experience watching you fight. Words unable to describe how glad he was you’d won, and were safe, and were _staying_ with the Vongola.

“Okay, okay!” you giggle as you try to wiggle out of his grasp after a few moments “Did they invite you here for an interview about a committee too?” You ask - half listening as you peer into the room just beyond the door. “Ah baseball actually.” He manages to answer before you’re opening the door and indicating for him to follow. The room is big. Filled with printers, computers and papers _everywhere_. Man and he thought his room was messy. Despite all the technology though, there’s a lingering smell of fresh ink lazily hanging in the air.

There’s a well-worn sofa sat in front of a fold down chair at the back of the room with a microphone resting on a table in the middle. An unfamiliar girl gestures for both of you to sit and sets down two glasses of water. At least he _thinks_ it’s water. There’s a strange pink hue to the liquid as it catches the light.

You take the seat next to his and he finds it completely natural to rest his arm on the back of your seat. He’d love to let his hand curl down, to touch your shoulder, but he’s aware that’s a completely selfish impulse and opts against it. Although maybe it’s his imagination but from his view point it looks almost like your leaning into him.

“Thank you for coming today. I appreciate this is a busy day for you both.” The host smiles knowingly.

“It’s no problem” Yamamoto replies rubbing the back of his neck “I love talking about baseball!”

The host nods awkwardly. “You’ll have to forgive me Yamamoto-kun but I lied to get you both here. You see this week’s paper is an exclusive interview with NAMIMORIS HEARTBREAKERS!” she gestures wildly as if presenting the title of an exciting new gameshow on television. It certainly catches him off guard. “Namimori’s  . . . Heart breakers?” you ask, an intense questioning tone in your voice like you’re not sure you understood her properly. “As in . . . injuring people’s hearts?” It’s an adorable direct translation he thinks to himself.

She nods enthusiastically. “That’s right! Between the two of you have rejected more people than anyone else of your gender in the school! Angel-chan was winning by 30 until lunch time when heartbreak Yamamoto-kun turned down a record 45 confessions!” She lets out a strange noise he can only think to describe as an excited squeal as she focuses her attention on him. “Yamamoto-kun forgive me but I have to ask, can I be the first girl whose feelings you accept?!”

You turn to him, seemingly as confused by this turn of events as he is. “Confessions? Ah that’s what everyone was talking about today!” He gives his trademark laugh and smile doing his best to ease the strange attention suddenly thrown his way. He really didn’t want you thinking of him as heartbreaker or a person who injures hearts.

“Ah! That’s a shame. Looks like I’ll be adding another point to Yamamoto-kuns score!” She marks a tally on her notebook.

“So Angel-chan!” She chirps flicking on the recording device hooked up to the microphone – an action that he can _feel_ making you tense.  “The word around school is that both you and Yamamoto-kun have been rejecting confessions all day. Why is that? ARE YOU SECRETLY DATING?!”

 She leans over, maintaining a scary amount of unblinking eye contact with you. “Before you answer, have a drink.” She gestures to the strange pastel coloured liquid in the glasses in front of you both.

You look at him before taking a hesitant sip, as if hoping for confirmation that this isn’t a normal situation to find yourself in.  He throws you a look conveying that is _not_ a normal thing. He sniffs his own glass, it has a pleasing light aroma like blackberries and forest spring. Deeming it safe he downs his drink, happy to have something so sweet to quench his thirst in the heat.

“It’s nothing like that. I promise! I’m very busy with my academic studies and the disciplinary committee and the library.” You stammer as you wave your hands apologetically,  you take another sip to buy yourself time to think. It’s a clever move he thinks to himself- immediately regretting finishing his. “I wouldn’t have time to properly take interest in anyone right now.”

You nod almost too much as if trying to convince yourself. Very delicately he runs his thumbs across the top of you shoulder, hoping to provide some comfort. As he does Yamamoto begins to feel a little dizzy. Stopping the movement to give himself a moment to focus.

“Ah that’s a shame, Yamamoto-kun same question. Who’s the mystery girl that’s stolen you heart, or is that baseball?” She winks at him and he laughs at the idea he could be in a relationship with baseball. Like it was a person! “Well I’m pretty busy too. School, baseball and this mafia roleplaying gam-“ Your hand slaps over his mouth before he can say anything else. The words coming out a little too easy.

“Mafia roleplaying game?” The host asks with a concerned look in her eye.

“Ahhhh it’s nothing. It’s a game we play when we’re bored. It’s really boring, you probably don’t want to hear any more about it! Soooooo boring.” He’s incredibly thankful for your answer as he realizes his heads a little too dizzy to be answering questions without thinking.

“Oh, That’s right.” The host says. “You live with Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-san right Angel-chan?”

This question catches you aback as you remove your hand from his lips, instantly he misses the smooth texture of them against his lips. She coos and leans over “You’re so lucky Angel-chan. Waking up with all those hot guys must be a dream!”

 That _really_ gets you tense as you start to squirm in your chair. His brain jumps to make a joke about the amount of times he’s sleep walked into your room but catches himself just in time. “It’s not like that really. We each have our own rooms and privacy a-and Kyoko-chan and Haru-chan come over a lot too!”

The host looks a little disappointed by this and seemingly scores out a few questions on her note pad. You relax a little but for some reason you’re avoiding eye contact with him, suddenly he very much misses those gorgeous eyes of yours. Some unfamiliar voice in Yamamotos brain tells him he should touch your chin, turn you to face him, just so he can see them again.

He wonders if you’re thinking about waking up next to him. He’d only fallen asleep in your bed a few times but he loved when he did. Waking in the morning to see your face so peaceful. Even if there was a pillow between the two of you it was a moment he treasured. Absentmindedly he twirls a strand of you hair, enjoying the way it feels between his fingers.

“Next question! The one everyone’s been waiting for” Her voice brings Yamamoto briefly out of his strange trance. “What is it you look for in a girlfriend Yamamoto-kun?”

 That was a big question. One he wasn’t sure he’d really thought about before. He looked over at you, musing all the things his team mates had told him about girls. Someone like you would be good a voice echoed through the rosy haze in his head. Someone strong and bright and clever. Someone who made his whole day feel better. He strokes his chin, hoping to buy himself some time to come up with an answer. Instead his brain plays out several fantasies: holding your hands on the walk home from school, cuddling with you late at night, looking into your eyes as he kisses you. He has to cycle back for a moment to remember where he is when he’s finally able to cut off that train of thought.

“I think someone hard working.” He nods as if assuring himself. “Someone who puts effort into what they want, if they can work hard and progress that’s really admirable.” It’s a good answer he thinks mentally patting himself on the back while he tries dispel any of those teasing thoughts about you and him. The host too seems impressed with this answer and scrawls notes rapidly. “Angel-chan, same question.”

Like him this one takes you a minute and there’s a small glimmer of hope that kicks off in his heart as your turn to look at him. He’s so keen to hear your answer he can feel himself lean closer to you, like a magnetic force pulling him into you. “I guess . .uh . . .sorry I’m a little dizzy.” You reach for your water nervously, eyes darting around the room. Your lips are still parted as you put the glass down and Yamamoto finds himself wondering what they’d taste like against his.

 “Maybe . . . Someone who’s dedicated?” You pause, clearly having trouble forming the thought into a fully-fledged explanation. “Meaning they work hard but if they’re dedicated it means they’re also dedicate to you right? Like so . . . They know what you like, how to cheer you up on a hard day, your favourite books. Little details make up a lot.” You look around realising you have the full attention of both him and the host, that puts you on edge again “I’ve never really thought about it though, so if my answers bad please don’t write it.” Yamamoto laughs lightly wanting to ease you worry. “It’s a great answer!” For a moment he catches your eye and you send a thankful smile his way that makes his head spin even more.

“Last question!” The host cries. “Where was your first kiss?” She turns to you first and you stammer hopelessly. He could feel the heat on your cheeks as you blushed wildly hiding behind your hair. It was a look so adorable and precious he wanted to capture it in his minds eye. Pulling back his hand he reaches out to brush your hair out your face, he has to actively think to stop himself. His movements seeming too easy and all too keen to be near you.

 You downed the last of your drink and seemingly trying to calm yourself. The host seems to recognise something is off.

“Ah maybe Angel-chan hasn’t had her first kiss yet! This could be the chance for a lucky Namimori student in the future!” She talks like it’s some kind of prize. A prize Yamamoto can’t help but think would be worth all the effort in the world.

The host seems satisfied she’s found the answer and turns off the recorder. She thanks both of you but not before making one more pass at him.

 

It’s not until you’re both clear of the newspaper room that you remark how weird the interview was. You ask him if that kind of thing happened every valentines day and Yamamoto can’t lie to you, even by fangirl/valentines day standards that was weird. There’s a sigh of relief on your lips that turns to a laugh as you recall all the weird statements made about your living situation and him.  He joins in, glad to send the tension from the last question out from between you.

Now if only he could find a way to spend some more time with you.

“Hey, should the two heartbreakers of Namimori get some sushi?” He says in as friendly a manner he came manage despite his current reoccurring train of thought. Your stomach rumbles at Yamamoto suggestions and he can’t help but laugh. Picking you up and shaking you gently. “Hmm sounds empty.” He jokes holding you so your stomach is near his ear. It’s a beautiful laugh that escapes your lips, filling his body with a warmth he could never fully describe.

As he moves to lower you back to the ground his eyes meet yours. The higher part of his brain dizzied by the overwhelming realisation of how close you are. Your nose inches from his. Those big beautiful eyes looking at him. A voice in his head says he could kiss you you’re so close. And that he should kiss you. Without acknowledging it he’s drawing you in closer, loving the way your arms wrap around his neck for support as he does so. Your lips so close, _so close._

The higher functions in his brain snap back into gear and he stops himself before he moves another muscle. He has no idea what’s coming over him but Yamamotos determined not to let this sudden rush of hormones affect you.

As quickly as possible he puts you down and turns away to hide the heat building in his cheeks. Your calling his name, asking if he’s alright. He mumbles something about feeling dizzy and shoots out the door as fast as his legs would carry him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the kudos, bookmarks AND COMMENTS! They're greatly appreciated you kind wonderful folks


	14. Confusion of the Namimori Heartbreakers (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh how the turns have tabled

Gokudera knew he shouldn’t be in your room. He was looking for that paranormal book you’d shared with him. And _then_ he just _happened_ to pick up the wrong book. The book you _happened_ to be reading. And _then_ he’d got comfy on your bed. And _then_ suddenly he was thirteen chapters in and he just couldn’t leave it there.

“Enjoying the book?” You smirked. He let out a cry of surprise as you pinned his torso to the bed.  _When the hell had you got back?!_ “H-hey! You can’t just sneak up on people like that idiot!” He shouts trying to hide the book under a nearby pillow.

“Isn’t it you who snuck into my room in the first place?” you retort, playfully bouncing a finger off his nose. He tries to shove you off but you have a tight grip on his chest and your legs are entwined around one of his, anchoring it down. You giggle and pull out the hidden book. You exclaim you didn’t think Gokudera would be so into such a _‘girly’_ story. He can’t admit he likes the book, he knows he's stammering and he can feel his cheeks burning up. What certainly doesn’t help is just how close your face is to him with that cocky-i-caught-you look on your face. “I was j-just. . . just glancing at it.”

You lean in closer, licking your lips as you do . “If that’s true, why is there a bookmark more than midway through the book?” Gokudera can’t think of an answer for this one and in a state of panic rolls you over and throws the book on the floor, taking the both of you with it. “ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WOMAN!” He shouts now beyond exasperated and panting a little.

His hands land either side of your shoulders, legs in between his. Your looking up at him and for the first time he notices something different.

 You smelled different, like blackberries, the forest after rain. It’s pleasant but not your normal aroma. No hint of old library books or the metallic tint that came from using your weapon on a near daily basis. Not that he knew how you smelled. Not that he cared so intimately he knew when it changed.

But there was something else as he met your eyes, your pupils dilated. Like really dilated, like moon sized dilated, staring back at him. Before he can figure anything else out your hand is in his hair. Your brushing it out his face, the little touches your fingers make send sparks through his skin. After a moment your other hand joins in, running from the side of his head to the very ends of the stray strands that fall in its wake. There’s an simple look of contended pleasure on your face as you twirl a strand round your finger. He say’s your name but you’re not listening. “So soft” you say, barely a whisper as he realises you’re slowly bringing his face closer to yours.

He wanted it to feel weird having you so affectionate with him. He wanted very desperately for you to laugh, to play it off as a joke, to say you were messing with him. That would be easier than processing how you were making him feel. Melting in your hands, hands that seemed to have no idea what they were doing to him.

A finger brushes over his lips, running down to gently grab his chin. And _any_ chance he had of being smart about his next move flew out the window as your lips graced his.

It’s a greedy, juvenile kiss but fuck if he can complain. The smooth sweet lips of yours pressing against his rough chapped ones. Gentle at first but growing quickly in hunger when he finally pulls himself together enough to return your actions. He moves a hand behind your head to cradle it and you return in kind wrapping your arms around his neck sending more of those beautiful sparks over his body. A part of his brain can’t believe it’s happening. Your body pulled closer to his as he realises he can’t get enough of you. Your touch, you taste, your smell. It’s all he can think about, it’s all he _wants_ to think about.

A loud buzzing interrupts his train of thought, and pulls your lips from his.

“Crap!” you shout as you uncoordinatedly untangle yourself from him, managing to almost elbow him in the face as you do. Suddenly the lovely feel of you around his body is gone and he’s alone on the floor. “i-I have to go!” You stammer as you grab your bag and exit before Gokudera can so much as think about stopping you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know i know. I'm sorry okay i just . . . Gokuderas just too easy to tease! Shhh it'll be fine we'll cheer him up somehow


	15. A Different Kind of Romance (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But why is your shirt off?!

At least you’d have some peace to figure out why the hell you felt so different. Not that it mattered, the feeling of pleasure that came from your interaction with the storm guardian was overwhelming and the interview with Yamamoto had definitely lead you with more questions than answers about romance and non-mafia life. You sigh, why did you agree to do night patrol on Valentine’s day of all days?

To your surprise Kyoya is at the school gates, his usual stoic look meeting yours. In a few sharp words Hibari informed you that ‘the baby’ had requested your joint presence.

Again, the light feeling wrapped around your head as you couldn’t help but notice how lithe Kyoya looked in his uniform. You stared at his face, unabashedly looking at his lips. If you kissed him, would it feel different from Gokudera?

You shake your head, trying to clear the rosy haze that seemed to encourage those strange thoughts in your head.  You arrived at the committee room and were greeted by several large piles of pink and red hearts. You wonder if Kyoya used any tact at all when rejecting confessions. Or indeed if anyone was actually brave enough to confess in person. Wouldn’t it be funny to see Kyoya get all hot and bothered like some of the students who had confessed today you thought to yourself. The image jars so brazenly against the Kyoya in front of you, you can’t help but laugh a little.

He ignores you instead opening a small fire box at the end of the room to reveal Reborn. A familiar “Ciaossu” fills the room. He explains that after the previous battle you could both benefit from training together Kyoya was the least likely to hold back from fighting you. You glance at Kyoya. He doesn’t nod but a small smirk flickered across his face for a moment. You decide to agree, after your close call last time it could only help to practice. Plus, you really wanted to put Kyoya back in his place.

It starts predictably with the cloud guardian charging forward to close the distance between the two of you. His gorgeous deep black hair flowing with his movements. You shake your head to try and snap out of whatever weird thought was taking hold of you. Making a split-second decision you decide to block the attack with your staff, using the interrupted momentum to drop down and kick the guardian off his feet. He’s too slow to stop you and ends up on the floor. You hold your staff to his neck and laugh. “Haven’t learnt from last time huh?”

He narrows his eyes and throws one of his batons towards you “Ill bite you to death!” It’s an aggressive move that doesn’t pay off as you side step out of the way. Idiot was getting worked up already, maybe you should bite him to death. Bite all along his pale exposed collarbone _._

 _Crap_ what is _with_ you today? If you’d thought your romantic emotions had been heightened where the hell was this emotion going!? You break away, moving your staff off the cloud guardian only to be scolded by Reborn. “If you hold back you’ll never learn.”

He had a point. Taking heed of Reborns advice you jump back and grab Kyoyas thrown baton. It’s heavier than you expected and cold even where Kyoya had been holding it. You briefly wondered if his lips would be cold too, like ice. You stop yourself and stashing the baton in the holster you’d normally use for your staff, get ready to attack again.

The head disciplinary committee member doesn’t have a chance to react as a new challenger enters the ring.

“Lambo-chan is hereee~!“ cries out the small guardian.  “I’m here to kill you reborn!” He childishly throws one of his pink grenades towards Reborn who dodges it without so much as a second thought. This angers Lambo and he brings out several more throwing them wildly in all directions. Reborn moves in close transforming Leon into a small cane and whacks Lambo fully on the head.  “Owwwwww!”

Lambo sobs, snot dripping from his nose. “Reborn you’re so mean!” he reaches into his massive fro and pulls out the infamous 10-year-bazooka. “Denied.” Chimes Reborn as he knocks it out of the cow’s hands. You try to catch it but misjudge terribly, becoming engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke.

 

Before the smoke clears you feel something smooth appear under your body. Something skin like. You peer down having landed on all fours. The first thing to appear is a shirtless torso. The skin is pale with several notable fresh bruises. Before any other visual information appears, the body rolls you over and bites painfully down on your shoulder. You let out a sharp cry. You’d been dumped down in the middle of some kind of battle.

As you look up you see the face of your challenger. It takes both of you a second to figure out what’s happened. “Kyoya-senpai?!” you stare in surprise. Your mind floods with a million different questions. He smirks and brings his mouth down for another bite this time lifting up your shirt to expose your stomach. “Hey!” You shout trying to push him off.

To your dismay this Kyoya is a lot stronger. He seems amused by your efforts. “How does it feel to be at a disadvantage little animal? ” He says in a voice much gruffer than expected before biting down again. You whine excessively. He’s much, much stronger in the future. Putting two and two together you figure you must’ve been fighting. But if that was true then why the hell did Kyoya have his shirt off?

You move to knock his leg out from under him but he stops you in your tracks, a low menacing laugh on his lips. Holding your leg still he draws back and picks up his tonfa from nearby. As he does you notice a bulge between the legs of his trousers. Your eyes widen,  concealed weapon? What kind of battle was this the thought screams in your head.

“Kyoya-senpai! Please, this is unfair!” as if in response another bite comes down to your neck choosing a more visible spot. If he wasn’t careful he really was going to bite you to death. Remembering you still had Kyoyas baton on you, you quickly pulled it out and struck the older cloud guardian in the face.

It’s a little more aggressive of a hit than you plan and the guardian reels for a moment. “Even when you’re younger. . .” he mumbles, taking the opportunity to pin down both your hands. You squirm violently refusing to acknowledge that the older Kyoya wasn’t going to let you go back without some kind of mark. His hand finds the buttons of your shirt and begin teasingly undoing them one by one. A sudden cloud of smoke engulfs you again as everything goes dark.

When the smoke finally does clear you notice there’s a few more people in the room. Tsuna and I-pin have arrived. Lambo seems to have been successfully restrained by Tsuna. Everyone was staring at you, or rather the spot your TYL self would have been. Nobody says anything until Lambo loudly shouts that he can see your bra. You cringe and quickly do up your shirt buttons again.

“Are you okay?” Tsuna asks in a worried manner.

You nod slowly, not quite sure how to explain everything that had unfolded in the few minutes you’d spent in the future. “W-what happened while I was away?”

 

There’s another cautious silence. Tsuna and Kyoya refuse to make eye contact. You notice for the first time their noses are a little red. “H-hey just what were you guys fighting? When the smoke cleared you were pretty beaten up and. . .“ Tsuna-kun points to the fresh bruises on your neck. Fighting! Suddenly you remembered. “Crap! Kyoya-senapai, I’m sorry I left your tonfa in the future.”

The cloud guardian frowns, clearly annoyed at your insolence, without a word he grabs the bazooka and sends himself into the future. In his place appears the shirtless and now breathless older Kyoya. He spots you first and walking over throws you onto the floor.

“Back for more?” he asks snidely before realising you’re not the one who’d been transported. “Ah Hibari-san?!” Tsuna interrupts, trying to alert him to the other people present in the room. “Tsunayoshi” He looks confused momentarily then notices the other younger guardians. He scowls at them raising him weapons. It’s enough to make everyone leave. And in the blink of an eye,  the two of you were alone again. As attractive as he looks, half-disrobed and breathing heavily, there’s an element of danger in the room that seems to ground your mind momentarily.

“L-look. You can’t just go fighting me again.” You stammer scrambling over a desk to put some distance between you and the ferocious older Kyoya. He contemplates this for a moment then cocks his head to the side, silently waiting for you to give him a good enough reason.

You struggle for something that didn’t simply come down to the fact he was stronger than you. “Because . . .because I want to know what you’re doing sparing with future me shirtless and getting yourself injured in the process!” This brings a smirk to his face. He leans over the desk motioning you to come closer. Fighting your instincts, you oblige. Some voice in your head insisting you obey.

 He whispers, low and dark, “In the future, you like it” Cheekily he nibbles on your earlobe. _Oh god, why was that so hot?_ You snap yourself out of it and make a hit for the older guardian which he easily dodges.

“You’re lucky we only have a few minutes.” He grabs you by your waist, pulling you down to sit on the desk, standing in front of you, he hooks both your legs around his hips. His musky smell lingers over you as you notice just how _strong_ the older cloud guardian is.

You could easily give in the voice tells you, you’re so close you could run your hand along his chest. Your eyes wander over Kyoyas toned torso. He pulls your hair down forcing you to look up. “Look at me little animal.” He says, his lips centimetres away from yours, achingly close. It catches you by surprise but the arm around your waist tightens, refusing to let you pull away. It’s rough. You feel like a helpless animal caught in a trap.

After what feels like mere seconds a cloud of smoke engulfs the older guardian and in his position, appears the Kyoya of your time. Right between your legs, holding you.

He stares at you, almost completely dumbfounded. You notice his shirt buttons are undone and there are several marks across his chest and neck. Whatever the older you had done to him, it had been intense. You guessed he was in the same boat as you were. You also realised you hadn’t taken your legs off the guardian.

 As you went to move them Kyoya stopped you. “You’re . . .” He seemed like he was still searching for what he wanted to say. You allowed him the moment, not realising you were still breathing a little too rapidly. Focusing on your breath you heard the voice again, reminding you how close you were to him, how easy it would be to-

“Little animal.”

You feel your eyes widen at the nickname, the momentary fear and confusion from the past events flooding your brain. There’s a faint smirk of satisfaction on his lips when he sees your face. He releases your legs after a moment, not saying another word as he leaves the room.

You had no idea if he’d gotten the same impression from his visit to the future as you but the whole day had been so crazy you were happy to disperse without another word.

 

As expected when you return Yamamoto is already in your bed. If one thing it was nice to have consistency you thought as you changed and climbed into bed. To your shock Yamamoto calls your name. He rolls over and mumbles something about not feeling right all day. You know exactly how he feels is the only response you can manage. His slight smile is just visible in the moonlight. He pulls you in for a hug, ignoring the pillow you had between the two of you, and you appreciate the warmth of his presence. “I’ve just felt . . .dizzy all day.” He whispers sleepily. “I thought. . . maybe if I was with you it’d stop.” He chuckles softly. “Things always seem clearer with you around.” His voice drifts off as he closes his eyes and small snores begin. You don’t blame him. Today knocked it out of you too.


	16. Blackmail!

 

The school is a buzz this morning. As you walk up to the gates trying to shake the grogginess from your head it’s Kyoko who’s the first to point it out. Everyone has newspapers in their hands and they’re staring at Yamamoto. He doesn’t seem to notice but Kyoko brings it up, asking a nearby student for a copy. She reads the paper then looks at you and Yamamoto worriedly. “Uh . . .  is this really you two?”

She turns the paper to reveal the headline “Namimori heartbreakers! A secret affair? We follow Namimoris baseball captain to see what he does after hours!” skipping through the article you find a picture at the side. A picture of Yamamoto holding you, from the angel it’s taken at it almost  looks like he’s kissing you. You snatch the paper. “W-when did this happen?!” Yamamoto leans in and reads over your shoulder. “It says yesterday.” He laughs. “Those people look just like us!”

Kyoko-chan, Gokudera and Tsuna-kun look at you both in a concerned manner. “You don’t remember this happening Yamamoto-kun?” Tsuna asks. Yamamoto thinks for a minute then laughs stating he can’t really remember much about yesterday. Come to think of it everything was pretty blurry when you tried to recall where you’d been yesterday too. Then, something at the bottom of the page catches your attention.” Tomorrows issue! Is the Angel of Namimori seeing Yamamoto-kun or Hibari-kuns mysterious older brother?!”

 The headline strikes some kind of bizarre form of fear and confusion into your body. What the hell kind of newspaper was this? _Kyoya-Senpai didn’t even have an older brother_.

 

“Ah!” Yamamoto-kun pipes up. “We had an interview with the newspaper committee yesterday but . . . that’s all I can remember.” He trails off scratching his head, unable to catch any of the vague memories drifting around his mind.

His prompt clarifies something in the front of your mind. In the lower levels of the school, there’d been an enthusiastic host and. . . that weird smelling pink water. You had to stop whatever was going on before the whole school got the wrong idea. Rolling up the tabloid the gang heads to the newspaper committee room. Waiting for you is the host from the day before.

“Just what the hell is this?” Gokudera shouts slamming the paper down on the desk in front of her. “You don’t remember?” She picks up the newspaper and opens it so the scandalous picture is facing all of you. “Your precious Angel-chan and Yamamoto-kun were caught getting a little hot and heavy yesterday.”

Hot and heavy?! You still had all of your clothes on! You were clearly in the middle of the school corridor! You voice all these thoughts but she just laughs. Turning her attention to you she changes to a serious tone. “If you want to discuss this, I’ll need to talk to you alone.”

You’re confused by her offer but accept. The others leave and Yamamoto makes you promise to shout if you need them.

“What’s the idea here Pres? You pretend to interview myself and Yamamoto-kun then follow us around for some plausibly scandalous photos?” you ask trying to reason with her and hold back your frustration at the whole charade.

She laughs coyly. “Oh Angel-chan you really are naïve. Publishing those photos as just the start of our 2 stage plan.”

“Our?” you ask, now beyond confused as to what the fuck was going on. “Oh yes, you’ve made quite a few enemies during your time here Angel-chan.” She rises from her chair. Instinctively you reach for your staff, if she was connected to the mafia you had to be prepared.

To your surprise she claps her hands and several girls pop out from various hiding spots around the room. They all have strange T-shirts on with . . . names? It looks like Hibari-kun, Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-kun are all scrawled with varying degrees of legibility over their white shirts. “You’ve been hanging around our favourites for too long.”

“Yeah!” one of the ‘Gokudera-kun’ girls pipes up. “It was bad enough with No-Good-Tsuna around but with you no one can get close to Goku-chan”. The name made you cringe slightly. “And Yamamoto-kun too!” Another pipes up unsurprisingly wearing the rain guardian names on her shirt. “He didn’t even acknowledge my confessions yesterday.” Tears fall from her eyes as two other girls comfort her. You don’t have the heart to tell her Yamamoto-kun didn’t even realise he was being confessed to by anyone yesterday.

“Your angel act may have fooled them but we see through you!” The newspaper head is now standing triumphantly on her desk. “Once we publish these photos they’ll see just how much of a demon you really are.” From her desk drawers she produces a sealed envelope labelled “Blackmail”. You decide to call her bluff.

“What pictures?” You say staring her down. As far as you were aware the only point she had right now was the picture of you and Yamamoto, and that was a stretch at best.

“I’m glad you asked!” opening the envelope she dramatically throws down the first picture. It’s of you . . . with your legs around . . . Kyoya-senpai? Only he looks older? This makes no sense. Keeping your patience, you inhale deeply. Scanning over the photo. It’s definitely you, and there’s no way you can deny the scandal of the photo. His arm around your waist basically pinning you to him. The only trouble being you don’t _remember_ that happening. “What do you want?”  you say not tearing your eyes away from the photo.

“What? No denial? No ‘It wasn’t me!’ I should have guessed, at least you’re honest.” She pulls her hand to her mouth and laughs, the others join in. “We want you to stop talking to them. With you gone we’ll finally have a chance to ask out Yamamoto-kun.” “And Gokudera-kun.” “And Hibari-kun” The other girl’s chimes in. “And if I don’t?” you ask testing the waters.

“Then we publish this photo in the newspaper and everyone finds out about your inappropriate behaviour.” “on school grounds too” a girl whispers, deliberately loud enough to hear. “I think you can get expelled for that. Maybe even deported!” the loud whispers circle around getting more and more threatening.

“Alright!” You shout, finally getting the room quiet. You can feel yourself breathing heavily. “And if I don’t talk to them ever again, you won’t show anyone these?“  You wave toward the compromising photos. “Correct.” The newspaper president walks around her desk and links your arm with hers. “I’m glad we could understand each other.”

 

 Slowly she walks you to the door. Before you leave she whispers to you “And if you even think about stealing, burning or destroying these photos I’ll publish this one too.” She reaches into her inner jacket pocket and pulls out one more photo. It’s of Yamamoto in your bed

 “If you think they’re mad at you now wait till I show them these.”

 You can feel the sweat trickle down your neck as you imagine several rabid fangirls finding anyway the can to make sure you’re destroyed, socially, physically and mentally. You nod showing you understand.

 

“Great! Now here’s your first test. Walk out, tell Tsuna-kun and Kyoko-chan everything’s fine and leave. Talk to anyone else and the deals off.” She doesn’t wait for you response and instead shoves you out waving to the others and slamming the door behind her.

“W-what happened?” An overly concerned Tsuna-kun asks.

“It’s fine, everything’s fine.” You mumble lowering your head to hide your face as tears of frustration fight their way to your eyes.

“What was all that stuff about Yamamoto-kun and Hibari-kuns older brother?” Kyoko asks.

“N-nothing . . . a mistaken identity. It’s fine.”

“Ahh good job Juudiame! You really set things straight in there!” Gokudera sings the tenths praises as if he’d been in that negotiation room alongside you. “Shall we head to class?” Yamamoto-kun asks.

You shake your head. You want to tell them everything. You want to march right in there with them and smack the smug look off every student in there, but you can’t. You’d bet your sisters hoodie they were all listening at the door. Judging by the pictures the committee head was able to produce it wasn’t far off to assume they had access to the school CCTV.

“I’ve got something to sort out Tsuna-kun” You say, specifically avoiding answering Yamamotos question. “I won’t be in class today.” You don’t wait for a response as you depart the conversation and head to the only place you know is safe, the science lab.

 

The blinds have already been drawn so there’s no extra precaution needed as you shut the door and hunker yourself under a nearby desk. You take off you school blazer and use it to muffle the sound of the cries that accompany a barrage of tears. You’d had no memory of these events but there you were in compromising situations with two of your closest friends, with the closest thing you had to a family outside your sister.

 You didn’t even remember half of the things she’d pictured you doing. You stomp and kick the floor in defeat. What happened yesterday. Why were you getting yourself into such compromising positions? You racked your brain for some kind of clue but whenever you thought you had a glimpse of a memory it disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke. You hear footsteps and quickly quieten yourself.

“Oi. I know you’re in here.” _Shit it’s Gokudera_. You draw your feet in and hoped the desk was enough to hide you. “You can’t just walk away from a weird scenario like that and expect people not to care!” He’s a little angry but you can tell he’s doing his best not to shout. He enters into the lab closing the door behind him. “We’re just worried about you that’s all. That idiot baseball head doesn’t remember anything about yesterday he just mentions this interview and great tasting water.”

You hear his footsteps get closer. He doesn’t look down but the sudden flood of light shows you just how close he is as he draws back the blinds. Some kind of disappointed sigh escapes his lips. “I thought you’d be here . . .You’re always here.” His voice trails off as he reluctantly redraws the blinds. His walking is slow, as if he’s hoping he’ll suddenly spot you on the way out, but no luck. You remain hidden squishing down the pang of guilt from ignoring Gokuderas aid. But you couldn’t risk it, not when you knew Yuki had cameras everywhere.


	17. Mo' Fangirls, Mo Problems (Gokudera, Hibari, Yamamoto)

 

Yamamoto doesn’t see you all day. He wants to make sure you’re okay and to see if you remember anything about the interview. He’s kept the picture from the article in his pocket. Pulling it out when he was alone to try and figure out why he can’t remember anything, about being so close to you. Holding you like that. It’s something Yamamoto feels he would definitely remember.

You’re in your room when he finds you. Hunched over your desk nervously biting at the pad on your thumb looking over something. He forgets to knock and as he gets closer he can see it’s the newspaper article.

You notice him and smile, turning in your chair to initiate a conversation. You move your hand as if you’re about to say something but then you stop yourself, head turning to look out the window in a panic as if you’re expecting someone to be watching. There’s a strange apologetic look on you face when you turn back to face him. Yamamoto can see you covering the news article with text books.

The awkward silence makes him feel on edge. Trying again he puts on his best smile. “Angel-chan?” It’s a bad move. Yamamoto can see your whole-body tense. There’s a pause, you don’t turn to look at him and your voice is a low whisper but he gets the message loud and clear. “Yamamoto-kun, please leave.”

 

He replays the scene in his head as he walks to school. You’re noticeably absent from the group. He heard someone walking around early this morning, early enough that by the time he was awake they were leaving but he didn’t count on it being you. You loved lie ins. He’d seen you in the morning once, you’d both slept in - you could barely function. Mumbling about being late already, putting your shirt on backwards, nearly leaving without your bag, he’d had to haul you back into the house just to sort you out. It had been a hassle but a damn cute one.

Yamamoto continues to worry when you don’t show up for class. The seat at your desk alarmingly empty. He tries to ease his worry, it’s not uncommon for you to be on hall duty for a few periods. He reasoned he could try to stop thinking about it till then.

You’re absent from class all day and by the end of the week Yamamoto _knows_ something is up. He sees you in the hallways and you change direction. He shows up to the library and you suddenly remember you’re not actually on shift. He tries to catch you at home and the door to your room is closed and locked.

“Baseball freak are you even listening?!” Gokuderas irritated voice breaks his train of thought as they walk down the crowded school corridor. Yamamoto apologises asking Gokudera to repeat himself. “Fuck sake idiot is there even anything between your ears?”

He laughs off his insults, glad at least Gokudera is his usual self. “I was saying it’s weird she’s just stopped coming to class. Have you even seen her around the house lately? No. What kind of clueless woman disappears after kiss—” Gokudera cuts himself off halfway through his rant, his eyes wide fixed straight ahead. Yamamoto follows his line of sight.

Hibari is a few meters in front of them. The older prefect peering round the corner, staring intently. Yamamoto joins him, looking round to the next hallway. To his surprise you’re there, surrounded by girls he vaguely recognises and the newspaper host.  “Are you worried about Angel-chan too?” he asks not taking his eyes off you. Hibari doesn’t answer as he shifts away from the viewing spot and heads towards you angrily.

The group you’re with notice and a few girls seem to perk up at Hibari’s appearance waving and moving in a way Yamamoto can only think to describe as fawning. Hibari makes a bee line straight for you, tonfas raised ready for action. For a brief second Yamamoto can see the spark in your eyes, the quick of your hand as it reaches for your staff. But then one of the girls elbows you and your whole body shrinks back, like a child scolded by its mother. Hand away from the staff, eye contact broken, staring at the floor. Hibari speaks to you and you look to the girls as if seeking guidance for your actions. They don’t say anything to you but push you aside as a few of them try to get him to talk. The others dragging you off out of sight.

Sneaking past the swarm of girls surrounding Hibari he follows you down the next few corridors. The newspaper host is the one leading the group, she’s showing you something on her phone. Yamamoto had no idea what it could be but it’s making you look incredibly uncomfortable. You nod and reluctantly hand over your own phone to her. The smirk on the newspaper hosts face is anything but friendly as she begins looking through it. He decides it’s time to intervene.

“Angel-chan!” He shouts, waving as he approaches the two of you. “I thought I’d find you here, I’ve been needing some help with those books you lent me.” Immediately the newspaper host is in his way. “Yamamoto-kun! I didn’t know you liked books. What books are you reading? I love books!” She’s speaking a million miles an hour and Yamamoto can barely keep up until her hand is on his arm and she’s asking him about a private reading session together. “Ah sorry I actually need to speak to angel-chan just now uh . . .” He’s blanking on her name as he laughs and gently shakes her hand off him. He tries to make eye contact but you’re staring at the ground again.

“Actually _angel-chan_ was just leaving weren’t you?” Yamamoto’s smart enough to know that’s an order not a question but you just nod slowly and walk off. He’s about to follow you when the host grabs on his arm again.

By the time Yamamoto can find a polite enough excuse to leave the conversation he’s being held hostage to you’re long gone. He scratches his head as he mulls over the days events. Up ahead he can see Gokudera leaning against the school gates. As he gets closer he can see Gokudera is breathing heavily. “Are you alright Gokudera-kun?”

The storm guardian doesn’t answer, spitting on the ground instead and pushing off the school gates to walk with Yamamoto. “Fuckin bastard.” He mumbles after a few moments. Yamamoto can see there’s a few sticks of dynamite missing from his usual holster and figures there’s been some kind of fight. “Do I look like her fuckin mother?!” Gokudera throws his hands up in the air exasperatedly. “Who’s mother?” he chuckles. “That clueless woman. Bastard comes ‘round shit talking about how he’s going to bite me to death if I don’t tell him where she is, why she’s missing out on her duties. LIKE I FUCKIN KNOW WHAT THAT WOMAN DOES WITH HER DAYS!”

Gokudera’s about to say something else when their phones go off. Pulling it out Yamamoto see’s the text is from you and smiles. _You make a girls heart go doki doki with your handsome smile and gorgeous hair. Can you meet me at the Namimori shopping centre Sunday I have something I want to confess_. Yamamoto knows it’s not from you. For one he’s just seen you hand over your phone, the grammar is far too good and thirdly he can see Gokudera has just received the exact same text. The storm guardians face growing slightly pink as he stares at the phone seemingly forgetting to blink. “Clueless woman.” He grumbles shifting back to his usual self and throwing the phone into his pocket.


	18. Blackmail Group Date (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamamoto's a little more sly than people give him credit for

Yamamoto knew this whole set up was weird. The text, avoiding not just him but Gokudera and Hibari too. The new girls you’d been hanging around with. _The text_.  He knew something was off, but that didn’t stop him worrying about what to wear or spending a good 10 minutes in his bathroom mirror fiddling with his hair.

When he gets there, he can see Gokudera’s already waiting. Yamamoto thinks it’s best to be up front with him. “Hey Gokudera-kun, did you get a text from Angel-chan? He asks. Yamamoto can see the storm guardians face drop as he realises he’s not the only person invited.  To his surprise Hibari is there too. Albeit looking a lot more tee’d off than Gokudera.

“Morning Hibari-san, did you get a text from Angel-chan too?” Yamamoto asks. Hibari looks him up and down. “I got a text about two misbehaving Namimori students hanging around here on Sundays.” He replies gruffly before narrowing his eyes. Yamamoto rubs the back of his neck awkwardly trying to dispel the dark aura being thrown his way. “Ma I’m sure they’ll appear soon.”

As if on cue three Namimori students appear. He recognises the newspaper host but not the other two. “Morning Yamamoto-kun. By any chance have you seen Angel-chan today?” the hosts asks. Yamamoto shakes his head. “That’s a shame, she mentioned something about a group date but she refused to say with who.” Her eyes drink over the three boys as she talks in a way that makes Yamamoto feel uneasy.

As he looks over the group of girls he catches sight of you. Your running towards him in an awkward half-jog-half-sprint fashion. When you reach him you’re slightly out of breath. “Sorry . . . sorry I’m late.” You catch your breath and he can tell you’ve just woken up. Hair dishevelled and your shirt’s crumpled on one arm where you’ve picked it up off the floor. Yamamoto can’t help but think how adorable you look.

“I uh . . . yes this is . . .” Your words are mumbled like your brains still catching up with the rest of your body. “these are . . . friends we met at uh . . . .” The newspaper host is side eyeing you hard and Yamamoto notices you seem a little scared of her – cringing when she throws you a particularly hard stare. “The library” the host whispers under her breath. “Right the library. And I thought you guys should um . . . with my new friends.” You’re rubbing your forehead trying to find the words. “Collectively . . . it’s the word . . . collective romance? Group courting?”

“Group date.” The host interrupts harshly. “right right. So uh . . .” You’re cut off curtly by Hibari. “I’m not spending my Sunday with herbivores.” He says before turning to leave. One of the girls kicks your foot and gestures to Hibari. “I can’t make him stay” you whimper in a hushed tone.

The whole situation is awkward. Five minutes after everyone finally decides on an activity you sharply stand up and shout about having left laundry in the washing machine. An act seemingly so urgent you need to leave immediately. Yamamoto tries to throw a smile your way but doesn’t manage to catch your eye.

 

“Hey Yamamoto-kun, I’d love to do another interview. You should give me your number so we can arrange something.” The host giggles. Yamamoto is about to politely decline when he has an idea.

“Sure!” He smiles. “Can I see your phone?”. Eagerly the host hands it over eyes trained on him, not good he needs to buy a little time. “So uh . . . Host-chan, how long have you been in the newspaper club?” He asks tentatively already searching through the phone, Gokudera is side eyeing him immensely but he can explain later. He opens the photo app first and immediately spots a folder labelled blackmail. He looks up, just checking she’s still talking. He tries to open it but there’s a password. _Damn it_!

Yamamoto tries a few things while she’s distracted: _Namimori, newspaper club, blackmail, password._ none of which work. “Hey uh host-chan, when’s your birthday?” he asks reasoning that’s his next best chance. “My birthday?” Her eyes light up at his question. She tells him and then proceeds to subtly list things she’d love to perhaps maybe be gifted by someone in her year. Yamamoto has to hold back a sigh when that doesn’t work either. “I just didn’t think someone as handsome as you would be interested in _my_ birthday Yamamoto-kun.” She continues on her ramble. Then it hits him. _Yamamoto-kun_.

To his relief it opens. Yamamotos eyes gazing over picture upon picture of scandalous happenings. Some of students he doesn’t know, several of Gokudera smoking on school grounds, one of that time Tsuna copied answers from Haru’s test, another of Ryohei wearing Kyoko’s pink t-shirt -which he reasons is more cute than blackmail-. As he quickly scans through he finds what he’s looking for. A picture of you and him, cuddled in your bed. He knows he doesn’t have time to stare at it but wow you two look good together. His arm is lazily over your waist and your fingers intertwined with his, an air of casual intimacy even with the pillow between the two of you. That must be what the newspaper host was using against you.

As he closes the picture another photo catches his eye. It’s taken in a classroom, a man looking suspiciously like an older Hibari is holding you to him, tilting your head up with his hand. Yamamoto doesn’t want to think about it and closes the photo before handing back the phone to the still ranting newspaper host.

“There you are.” He smiles. “Ah thanks Yamamoto-kun! I’Ill call you tonight.” She says. Gokudera is still staring with a look of pure belligerent anger as he hands the phone back. “Hey Gokudera-kun maybe I should get your number too?” one of the girls asks. “I don’t have a phone.” Gokudera grumbles as he texts Yamamoto. _What the hell are you doing baseball freak?!_ Yamamoto stretches out yawning loudly. “Well I’m all tired out. Thank you for the lovely group date!” he smiles exiting before Gokudera can say anything to stop him.

 

 He finds you in the laundry room and it’s perfect, no windows for sneaking newspaper hosts to spy through. “Hey.” He tries to be casual, as casual as you can be when a close friend is being blackmailed. As expected your body tenses up at his voice. Quietly closing the door behind him he holds up his hands, trying not to scare you. “Angel-chan it’s okay, I know about the photos.”

For the first time in _days_ you look at him, really look at him, stare at him. And for a moment he thinks he’s got it wrong, that you’re not being blackmailed. That he’s crazy and really he’s done something to hurt you.

Your eyes are searching his as you walk toward him. Paced steps as if you’re not quite sure you heard him right. “I saw them on the newspaper hosts phone.” he continues. Your eyes move from his as you get closer, arms wrapping around his sides as you bury your head in his chest. Yamamoto can feel you holding onto the back of his shirt “I don’t know what to do.” You whisper through a choked back sob. Yamamoto doesn’t ask you any questions - instead he brings his hand round to stroke your hair. His other arm sliding around your back letting you know you’re safe, _he’s got you._

After a few minutes the little cries you’d been muffling quieten down. You pull your head from his chest, mumbling apologises for getting his shirt wet and he can’t help but laugh. “My shirt is the least of our problems right now.” He smiles at you, glad when you let out a quick breath of laughter. Yamamoto bends down slightly so you can look at him properly. “Can you tell me what happened?”

It’s a difficult process. He knows Valentines day is hazy for both of you. You tell him about the picture of the two of you in bed. Yamamoto feels a strange gladness when you mention the picture with older Hibari, he feels like you trust him. He _wants_ you to feel like you can trust him. You tell him about the fangirls and how they blackmailed you into not talking to any of them. How you felt you couldn’t even go to class because it would be too hard to avoid talking to them. Yamamoto gives you a hug when you’re done. Both of you sitting on the floor. The hum of the dryer carrying through the air as he rests his head on top of yours. “What am I going to do Yamamoto-kun?” you ask. “Live in the laundry room.” He jokes. “I’ll bring you food and books and you’ll never have to worry about anything again.”

You laugh at that, it’s a wonderful sound that fills the whole room and lifts his heart. “That’s a nice idea, but I don’t think I could live in the Vongola laundry room for the rest of my life. Too warm for one” you say as you turn around in his arms, resting your head on his shoulder and tilting it back as you look up at him. For a brief moment he wonders about kissing you but realises this is neither the time nor the place. He shifts a little to accommodate the height difference. Bringing his knees up to rest his arms on, one hand around our waist as your back aligns and settles against his chest. _You’re too easy to cuddle_.


	19. Sorry Kyoya-Senpai (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Normally Yamamotos moral compass is a little more straightforward

Yamamoto was surprised how well you could manoeuvre around the school. You’d told him to follow your exact movements and he had. So far, you’d disconnected six security cameras. Sliding along the corridor walls you both peeped into the newspaper room. To his dismay the newspaper host was still there. She had a smug smile on her face as she sat at her desk writing. You’d have to wait it out.

It wasn’t until well after the sun set that Yamamoto said something. It didn’t seem like the host showed any signs of leaving as she poured herself another cup of green tea. You sighed dejectedly taking refuge in the detention room. Only after he stood in front of the camera in the hallway so you could sneakily disconnect it. One thing Yamamoto couldn’t get over was how fluent you seemed in all this.

He watches as you slump down against one the filing cabinets, the look on your face tells him your tired and running out of ideas. “It’s just like the mafia roll playing game right?” He laughs joining you on the floor. “All this sneaking around and plotting.” He says letting a chuckle out as he looks at you, hoping to cheer you up.

You grimace at that for a moment.” Yeah uh . . . you know I’ve played the mafia game before right Yamamoto-kun?” you ask cautiously. Yamamoto can’t help but feel you’re asking so tentatively because you think he’ll see you different. He nods. “After the Varia joined us to play, Gokudera-kun told me you played on his team too.” He says smiling and reaching a hand out to your knee to let you know it doesn’t change how he thinks of you.

You let out a quick breath of laughter. “His team huh.” You lean back your head, resting against the handle of the metallic stacked of drawers. “Not quite his team. Gokudera-kun . . . he played a more forward role. I . . .i used to do stuff like this.” You say gesturing vaguely in front of you. “Like blackmail?” he asks, thumb stroking the side of your knee. It’s rare for you to share information about yourself with him, he’s keen to encourage you. “Less involved, I gathered information. What people did with it after they gave me what I wanted wasn’t any of my concern. . .So this kind of feels like  . . payback.” You force a laugh and Yamamoto knows that laugh so well. He uses it sometimes too, when things feel like too much. It’s like a deflection as if somehow laughing about it made it less hard.

He lets his own head rest back on the wall behind him as he tries to think of another way around the situation. “What would you do if you were gathering information on this?” He asks, eyes sliding over to watch you face, he’s so eager to pick your brain now you’re opening up. You let out a long huff of air. “If someone else was in this situation and they wanted me to help them out?” you reply, eyes staring at the far window of the room – slightly unfocused as if your mind is playing out the scenario in your head.

“I guess the first thing would be to find out what was in that drink.” You answer after a few minutes. “then give it to them, gather incriminating pictures and initiate a counter blackmail.” You say turning to him. Yamamoto can’t help but think he’s not ready for blackmailing people quite yet, but agrees figuring out what was in the drink sounds like a promising idea.

 

You stand up abruptly – letting his hand fall off your leg- and stretch, stating the best place to start would be her locker. Yamamoto guesses you’re going to use your disciplinary status to grab a master key, so when you lead him up to the foyer and pull out a lock pick he’s concerned. Or at least Yamamoto _thinks_ he should be concerned because lock picking is _bad_ and _wrong_ but he’s also feeling incredibly impressed with your newly revealed skill set. The slick work of your fingers across the pick, the gentle breath as you focus on the tiny clicks of the pins, the look of intense concentration as you visualise the feedback from every tiny movement, there’s something captivating about your face, Yamamoto could watch it all day.

He snaps back to reality when the locker swings open with a satisfying creek. He smiles at the small fist pump you give yourself before reaching in and searching through a backpack. There’s the usual stuff inside the locker, some books, a bag, a weird number of photos of Yamamoto take in some very questionable places. He makes a note to always double check the air vents in the boys changing rooms.

“Yamamaoto-kun.” You say, pulling out an intensely bright pink bottle. No doubt the same one used in your drinks. There’s a small label on the bottom as you hold it up but something else catches Yamamoto attention in the reflection of the bottle. You spin around to follow his eyes. “Kyoya-senpai!”

Hibari glares at the both of you “What do you think you’re doing herbivores?” he growls. Neither of you are quick enough in your answers to satisfy the prefect. Hibari charged towards you, batons at the ready. Yamamoto moves to take the hit but you’re faster. One handed you block the hit with your staff. “It’s not what you think Kyoya-senpai.” You insist. The prefect goes in for another hit and without thinking you raise your hand with the bottle to block.

It shatters on impact, pink liquid and glistening glass falling over the prefect. Hibari remained still for a few seconds, inspecting the pink liquid now drenching his clothes. Seemingly unconcerned about the glass he lifted up his batons for another attack. His stance lasts a whole two seconds before his eyes begin to close and he hits the floor.

 

You look at Yamamoto with sheer panic in your eyes. He doesn’t quite know what’s happened but he can see a label in amongst the pink mess. _“_ Doki Doki Love Potion” Yamamoto reads it aloud, knowing reading kanjis probably wasn’t your strong point. “Aims to make two people fall in love instantly, water down or have your target sniff it. Effects should take a few minutes and include; intense feelings of attraction, increased libido, short term amnesia and possible clumsiness. If symptoms persist beyond one day lucky you!” Yamamoto say, he forces a little laugh. “Sounds like what we had.” You nod, eyes glancing over the unconscious guardian. “Anything about pouring it over someone?” you ask hopefully. Yamamoto shakes his head and you look disappointed. “There’s only one person we can ask.” You say in an almost defeated sigh.

Yamamoto isn’t pleased when you ask to go alone to the newspaper host. But you insist, something about not wanting her to get distracted by him and judging by his past interactions with her it’s a fair point. He knows you can handle yourself but it doesn’t stop him pacing the foyer and running his hands through his hair every five seconds while he waits. In an attempt to calm himself he slips into the reception room and seats himself at the desk. As he does so he notices some of the security cameras are still functioning, to his delight he can see you in the newspaper room.

Hibari has been laid on the hosts desk who is frantically running around checking his pulse, listening for breathing and flapping her arms. Yamamoto can’t help but laugh a little at the whole situation. _Who even knew love potions were a thing?_

 

Tempting his curiosity, he opens up a tab on the computer and googles the doki doki love potion. To his surprise there’s a help line. Figuring it’s his best shot he dials the number.

“Hello Doki Doki Love Potions how can I help you and your true love today?” the upbeat voice asks. “Ah hi, I was wondering what you should do if someone consumes a whole bottle?” he asks. “The whole bottle?!” the voice asks, shocked at his question. Yamamoto nods before remembering he’s on the phone. “Yeah.” There’s a long pause on the other end, followed by whispers and a new more concerned voice. “Can you explain _exactly_ what happened?” the voice asks hesitantly.

“Of course, this person was blackmailing my friend and so w-“ “BLACKMAIL?” the voice interrupts. Yamamoto has to hold the phone away from him for a second to avoid the deafening shout. “Ma it’s okay It’s all part of this mafia game we play.” “MAFIA?!” the voice shouts again, prompting another quick jerk of the phone to protect his ears. “YOU’RE BLACKMAILING SOMEONE IN THE MAFIA WITH OUR LOVE POTION?!”

“Yeah . . . can you help us?” he questions earnestly. His answer is a sharp click followed by the dial tone. Yamamoto can only laugh; some people just really didn’t like the mafia game.

He turns his attention back to the security cameras only to see your gone. He hears you in the foyer and waves from behind the glass screen of the reception. You sigh as you open the door and perch yourself on the desk. “Apparently he’ll be fine.” You say holding back a laugh. “I had to hold my breath the whole time, Kyoya-senpai is _covered_ in that stuff!” you joke resting your feet on the seat of his chair. Yamamoto found himself growing increasingly fond of the natural habit your bodies had of drawing close to each other as he put his feet on the desk, letting his legs brush against yours.

As he thought about a possible next step his eyes drifted over the monitor. There, in broad 1045x850 pixel was the newspaper host cuddling up to an unconscious Hibari. The look of shock on his face must show because you immediately look to the screen. A gasp of surprise on your lips as you figure out what’s going on. Neither of you say anything as you watch her play with his hair, running her hands through it like it’s piles of gold. “Oh damn.” You whisper. “Oh DAMN!” you shout, “She’s inhaled the potion!”. Grabbing your phone, you pull out a few cords and hook it up to the monitor with such energy it seemed like your life depended on it.

You’re leaning over his legs, unconcerned with the awkwardness of the angle, pressing buttons and Yamamoto can see several different applications open and close as your fingers work. By the time you’re finished your practically lying over the desk -and his legs- completely focused on a small download bar at the bottom right hand corner. Yamamoto wants to ask what you’re doing but feels it’s probably best to not interrupt you. Instead he watches your face intently.

When the download finishes you grab the phone and scroll through a few things before turning your attention to him. You ask if he can take care of Hibari, lock him in the disciplinary room as much for his own safety as everyone elses. Yamamoto asks what your plan is. Instead of answering you smirk giving him a playful wink and tell him you’ll meet back here tomorrow morning. As you leave Yamamoto smiles and ponders how it’s possible to be so enraptured with someone he barely knows.

 

 

He wasn’t waiting for you. He definitely wasn’t waiting for you.

Gokudera’s arms draped over the banister on the top floor of the Vongola house. He hadn’t seen you since the weird group date and now you hadn’t even come home. He kicked himself. What was he, your mother? You clearly didn’t want to talk to him anyway.

The sound of the front door opening pricks his attention. Slowly in the shadows he made out your figure. “Oi woman” he whispers in a low gruff voice tinted with concern. “What the hell is going on?”

He didn’t really expect an answer but the kind look on your face threw him off guard as you rushed and hugged him close to you. The faint smell of florals surrounded both of you and he leaned his head on top of yours. He moved to put his arms around you but you pulled back. He noticed you’ve become slightly teary eyed. “It’s okay, we fixed it. “ you smiled. Before he could ask just what the fuck you were on about you retired to your room. The storm guardian ran his fingers through his hair. “Geez woman” he whispered before retiring to his own bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day, thank you so much for the comments and kudos i'm so glad people are enjoying this. Chapter 1 has been re-done because lets face it you deserved a better introduction <3


	20. Revenge (Hibari, Yamamoto)

The next morning you wake up feeling like a massive weight had been lifted off your shoulders. You make an extra effort to engage in the mornings conversation. The events of yesterday had made you realise just how much you really had.

You made a point of talking to Yamamoto as you arrive at the school gate and it’s not long before the news paper host appears, anger brewing on her face. As soon as you’re in her sights she pulls you aside and opens her mouth to begin reminding you about the dirt she has.

“Would you mind stepping into the reception room with me?” you ask her coyly.  It almost seems to catch her off guard as she glares but ultimately she agrees.

It’s a routine you know all too well. Counter blackmail had been a tactic you’d deployed many times to get yourself out of compromising positions. You held yourself back from your usual taunting display, the news paper host was a civilian, not a mafia boss trying to blackmail you into assignation. To account for this you give her the option of destroying the blackmail and calling it quits, something you’d discussed with the more morally clean Yamamoto in order to ease his conscious.

She simply laughs and you can feel your eyes glint at the opportunity to return the pain. Quick as a flash you bring up the images of her cuddling an unconscious Hibari. It doesn’t take long for her to catch on – A stalemate of blackmail.

After a brief conversation you agree, each of you keeps the blackmail and as long as the other doesn’t publish it there’s a truce. Shaking her hand you feel a rush of relief and pride. You’d done it, a no casualties solution.

You exit the reception solo as you leave the host to recoup herself. Yamamoto is waiting a nervous look on his face.

“How’d it go?” he ask almost rushing to your side.

You look up at him, grinning wide. “It’s sorted. She’ll leave me alone as long as I don’t show anyone the video,” Yamamoto looks relieved at your words, picking you up to hold you close.

It could be the rush of joy from escaping extortion, the pleasure of defeating a menacing foe but in the heat of the moment Yamamotos lips meet yours, gentle and soft.

It takes both of you a split second to realise what’s happened. Widening eye contact made as both of your cheeks grow red. It’s alarming, and you pull away almost instantly, brain turning to fuzzy mush as you still feel the faint taste of his lips on yours.

“I didn—” you begin

Yamamoto is laughing, rubbing the back of his neck like he always does, that adorable smile on his face. “Accident right?” he suggest helpfully looking wholly more calm about the whole situation.

“Sorry, I guess I just got a little carried away. I’ve never really had anyone to celebrate this kind of thing with,” you admit sheepishly.

“Well I’m glad I could be your first.” he says, giving you a playful wink that brings back the pink in your cheeks. Quickly you excuse yourself and rush to the nearest bathroom to splash you face with cold water.

 

The was one loose end in you plan; Hibari. Silently walking up to the disciplinary room, you drew back the door barely an inch and peered in. To your surprise, everything seemed normal. Hibari was at his desk filling out papers, seemingly unaffected by the love potion. Cautiously you opened the door further and caught his attention. He doesn’t look up but you know him well enough to recognise the small twitch of his head. “Sit down.” He says, voice not giving away if it’s intended as an invitation or a demand. For a brief moment you wonder if he's somehow immune  as you take a seat on the disciplinary sofa. With a few swift movements he joins you, pinning you under him as he slides on top of you.

Calling it a hug would be generous. Hug implied things; tender things, softness, affection, warmth. Instead it felt more like a trap. You’d tried to move, assuming Hibari had just mistakenly landed on top of you but the quick hit of his arm around your waist corrected that miscommunication. Hibari kept his arm slung around you as he settled his head into your chest, marking his new nap spot. “Don’t move little animal or I’ll bite you to death.” He commands quietly as you shimmy to get yourself into a more comfortable position.

You sigh and warp an arm round his back to save it from dangling off the sofa. You don’t want to admit it but there _is_ something a little relaxing about having the older boys chest against yours; the weight of him seemingly pressing out all of the stress in your body, leaving room only for the rhythm of his breathing you were lead to sync with.

When he came round Hibari didn’t seem quite sure where he was for a moment. Head jerking against your chest with a low growl. Immediately you moved you hand from his back, letting him move off if he wanted to.

Hibaris eyes move up to meet yours, piercing steel eyes analysing your every breath. For a moment you brace yourself, ready to defend from his next move. But Hibari simply closes his eyes again and settles against your chest, arms tightening around you as if reinforcing his demand. Don’t move, don’t move or I’ll bite you to death.


	21. Catch! (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamamoto likes to play.

 

The rain guardian never knew where to find you - he swore some days you just vanished from Namimori without a word- but you always knew where to find him. Yamamoto watched contently as you braced your back against the fencing of his batting cages, eyes glued to a book that he could tell you were enjoying by the way you were absentmindedly twirling your hair round your finger.

“Waiting for me, Angel-chan?” Yamamoto smiled as he loads in another few balls. You turn your head and return his smile. “No rush,” you mouth to him. Yamamoto knows you’re more than happy to wait, but he’s not. Unlocking the cage, he’s about to walk you home when he gets an idea.

“Hey, have you ever played baseball before?” he asks. To his delight you shake your head. “Ah I guess I’ve got to teach you then. It _is_ the most popular sport in Namimori.” He holds open the door to the batting cage. Maybe he was making that last bit up, baseball also being the _only_ sport in Namimori.

Yamamoto’s beyond pleased when you agree and follow him into the batting cage, eyes wandering over every instrument and piece of equipment. He gestures to the diamond in the middle of the cage.

“Step right up!” he chuckles, and watches as you swiftly draw your staff and take up a fighting stance.

“Hey, hey, whoaaaaa. Let’s just, uh. . .” Yamamoto says masking the panic in his voice. He’d seen the kind of energy you could put out when you fought, and while it was good, it was _probably_ enough to bring down the whole cage if you weren’t careful. As gently as possible – so as not to freak you out - he takes your staff out your hands and replaces it with his bat. “A lot easier I promise.” He says as he winks at you. There’s a soft pink dusting over your cheeks as you pry your eyes from him and focus on the pitching machine.

Taking his cue, he begins moving your body ever so slightly. Pushing your legs wide with his hands, twisting your body to line his chest with your back, slowly letting his hands trace over your arms to guide you to a proper follow through swing as he matches his muscle memory to yours. If he didn’t know better Yamamoto could have sworn he heard your breath hitch as his hands ran over you; a beautiful little secret interruption to your regular focused look.

Gradually he wraps his fingers around yours, adjusting you grip on the bat, shimmying and tucking your fingers into a strong hold. He’s surprised at how cold your hands are and make a mental note to let you borrow his gloves on the way home. “How’s that feel?” he asks, lips maybe a little too close to your ear as he watches you nearly jump out of your skin.

“F-fine.” You manage after a moment, but Yamamoto can sense the stiffness in your voice. “It’ll be easier if you relax.” Yamamoto reminds you, still feeling that tension in your body against his. He watches as you take in a long, slow breath, shoulders releasing as you exhale. “Ready?” he chuckles, being careful not to startle you again. You nod, eyes focused ahead.

Being taller has its advantages as he uses his knee to push yours forward. Yamamoto’s hips twist against yours and you fold to fit his movements perfectly as he brings your arms down to a full swing. “Are you sure you haven’t done this before?” he laughs, bringing you back up to your starting position.

You laugh a little and the sound is beautifully echoed throughout the cage. “It’s a lot like fighting,” You tell him, “All muscle memory, right?” you flex your arm to follow the strike path he’d just shown you. It’s a little wayward near the end but Yamamoto has faith in you. Stepping away, he switches on the pitching machine and gives you a wave.

A satisfying _thwhunk_ fills the air as the first ball is thrown. The bat collides with the ball and sends it straight back into the machine.

A loud choking sound erupts across the cage and suddenly there’s a hard cloud of rising smoke. The ball shoots back out with another _thwunk_ and Yamamoto just manages to catch it before it hits you. You grab his arm and pull him out the cage to safety before the pitcher collapses with a final puff of smoke and burns itself out. You watch in horror as balls and screws roll across the dirt.

“I’m so sorry-” you begin, but Yamamoto can only laugh. Honestly, he thought that thing was indestructible until today.

“Don’t worry, we can do it old school,” he reassures you as he throws another ball from his bag into the air.

You spend the rest of the walk home tossing the ball back and forth between the two of you. Yamamoto aware he’s running his mouth, talking about nothing and everything, but for some reason you seem to enjoy it. Nodding every now and then, laughing when he tells you a joke or shares a story about Namimori, grinning as you purposely throw the ball at strange angles to catch him off guard. You keep this up until you’re both standing in the Vongola living room. He has the ball and you’re pulling out your textbooks, no doubt to start on the days homework.

Yamamoto, however wants to keep playing. As he takes a seat on the floor he cautiously rolls the ball across the coffee table. You smile as you let it spool into your outstretched hand.

“Shouldn’t you be doing homework too Yamamoto-kun?” you ask him, sitting down on the sofa. He chuckles and gestures for the ball back as he pulls out his own work. To his surprise you roll it back at an odd angle, making him stretch for it. Looks like you still want to play too.

It became an almost absent-minded play as homework demanded a higher level of focus. Yamamoto can see your brow furrowed as you stare at the paper in front of you. The palm of your hand rolling the ball in concentrated circles on the table, too lost in the quiz of grammar and syntax to remember to return it. Not fun, Yamamoto reasons to himself.

It’s only when you get up mumbling something about a drink of water that he sees his opportunity, grabbing the ball and nearly vaulting over the coffee table, he takes your seat and stretches out on the sofa. Yamamoto makes no attempt to hide the mischievous grin on his face when you return.

” Yamamoto-kun?” you say as you realise he’s stolen not only your seat but the entire sofa.

“Mmm?” he replies innocently, eyes shimmering as they meet yours.

“My seat?” you say, suggestively motioning for him to move.

“What about your seat?” he teases slightly letting his hands rest behind his head.

 “I was going to . . . I need to. . .” You seem to have trouble reasoning with him and opt instead to use force. It’s adorable, he can feel your arms down the back of his shoulders trying to pry him up. It’s a little ticklish and he can’t help but laugh as he applies the tiniest bit of force and undoes your small amount of progress.

“Yamamoto-kun, we have homework to finish!” you whine trying to shove him off again. “Hey Angel-chan, catch!” he throws the ball up into the air and like a programmed machine you catch it. He takes his opportunity and grabs you by the waist, pulling you on top of him. “Gotcha!” he laughs digging his fingers into your sides and tickling you with vigour.

Several giggled cries of “hey!” and “stop” fill the air before he finally relinquishes his attack in favour of giving you a chance to breathe. Yamamoto leans back and lets you gather yourself. Legs either side of his chest he could easily attack you again; and judging by the look on your face you’re expecting him to.

He holds up his hands. “No more I promise.” He laughs tucking his arms behind his head as an act of good faith. You’re still suspicious, eyes transfixed on his as you try to assess his intentions. Eventually you let yourself relax, lying on top of him with the casual grace he’s come to expect from your movements.


	22. Prey (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hibari saves you and you know better than to ask him why

Hibari made a habit of following his prey. When he was bored, when he was curious. Whatever the reason Hibari felt he should know where his prey was at all times. After all; they were his.

He’s un-phased when he follows you out of town to a dilapidated looking castle; The building's pretty in an isolated kind of way. Hibird seeming to enjoy flocking around the aging foliage curling along one side. He follows as she flies through a broken window, inquisitive as to what his little bird has found.

Scattered across the floor is a thin document folder, with your name on it. Hibari picks it up, wondering if you’ve been hiding something. Before he can open it a familiar voice echoes through the halls. If he remembers that laugh correctly there’s the chance of a fight. Pocketing the document, he heads further into the castle to follow the menacing sound.

“ _Sshi shi shi~”_

The two of you barge out from a nearby door. There’s blood everywhere. The herbivore laughing manically. “You think you can beat a prince?!” He cackles. The herbivore throws several curved knives in your direction. As he watches Hibari can see a few more stuck into your body, three alone on your back.

He notices something different in you. The fire behind your eyes, the way you’re gritting your teeth with every hit, the unrelenting aggressive attacks reigning down against the herbivore. It’s good, fascinating even to watch. Every muscle in your body is tense, pooling round to force blow after blow. The herbivore is dodging and managing a few hits but he’s suffering, the swift crack of your staff against his abdomen sends him reeling.

The herbivores laugh is louder now, more malevolent. “Give it to me!” you scream, kicking his fallen body across the floor. “You shouldn’t kick a prince.” He taunts. Abruptly he twists his wrist and Hibari can see a flash of wires leading to your body. Painfully they twist the knives caught in your skin and jerk you back.

Hibari decides he’s not going to interfere, he wants to see how much his prey can take.

With significant effort, he watches you rip a few of the knives from your skin, biting back a cry of pain as you do so. Even with the blood loss there’s raw hatred and determination in your eyes as your body heaves with every breath. The battle rages on. Knives flying every which way, metal thrashing into skin beautifully to draw more blood and screams from the two of you. A frantic, never ending animalistic mess of bodies Hibari could watch for _days_.

A turning point comes when the herbivore catches you off guard, stopping abruptly after a particularly close blow. “Gotcha!” he smiles as he flicks his wrist, revealing and tightening a web of wires wrapped inches from your body. Thin lines of blood seep their way across exposed skin and for a split second Hibari can feel his chest tighten at the sight. He can’t figure out if it’s worry or anticipation, but its strong enough to will him to move.

“Herbivore,” he shouts, readying his tonfas.

“Shi shi shi, you brought back up.” he grins at Hibari before something else catches his attention - A pull on his wires.

Even from his position Hibari can see it. With every inch of strength you have, you push your body against the wires. Hibari marvels at the flinch in your body as muscles are cut with fresh wounds. It pays off and soon the herbivore is being pulled towards you by the coil of wires under his wrist. When he’s close enough you force one last push and messily slam your body against his, sending him to the ground. “Give me the information, you shitty prince.” You growl through gritted teeth shoving a knee into his back, rage and adrenaline suppressing the pain of the wires digging further into your skin.

“Mmm no.” he grins manically as his head twists to meet your gaze.

Your eyes widen and glaze over in mere seconds. Hibari watches as your body gives: collapsing against the remaining wires like a rag doll.

“Shi shi shi shi, the prince is going to make you into a cactus.” The herbivore smirks as he slips himself out from under you. Seemingly he’s forgotten all about Hibari as he cuts the wires and drags you further into the castle.

Hibari isn’t about to let the shit eating herbivore carry his prey off like some hard-earned prize. With ease he crosses the room and executes the first of many fateful blows.

 

You haven’t stirred in the time it takes Hibari to find a safe place, blood loss and whatever that herbivore had laced his knives with had weakened your body. The hotel room was a second choice: as Hibari doesn’t know any hospitals outside of Namimori, and you had a strange thing against them. Hibird rested on the lamp next to the bed, staring at your limp body. He places his hand on your forehead checking for a temperature. You were running hot. There’d be no point in fighting you like this he told himself.

He rummaged through the hotel room supplies, eventually he came across a towel small enough to fit across your forehead. He soaked it in water and silently hoped it’d be enough to bring you round. You grimaced a little but don’t seem to rouse when he placed it on your head. For all his strengths Hibari was in no way a healer.

Grabbing some plasters and disinfectant from your bag he looked over your body. You winced every time he dabbed your wound, subconsciously pushing yourself away. He gave up after the first few attempts, soon losing interest in bandaging you up if you were going to be difficult.

It was an hour before you came around. Slowly acclimatising groaning as you came to.

“K-Kyouya-senpai.” You manage as your eyes focus on him. “What happened? How did you . . .” you ask, voice trailing off as you realise you’re asking too many questions.

“You were poisoned.” he states, careful to avoid putting any sentiment in the statement that would hint at his care or actions.

“Shitty prince,” you grumble followed by a staggered cough. Before you can say anything else, Hibari parts your lips with the rim of a glass and tips cool ice water into your mouth. He’s pleased when you obediently drink, finishing the glass in a few thirsty gulps.

You thank him and try to get up but he stops you. “You’re still ill.” He states. It’s stupid for you to try and move when you’re this injured. Before you can ask more questions, he picks up the now fallen towelette from you lap and heads to the sink to top it up with cold water.

The bathroom is small and Hibari can see he looks tired as he catches sight of himself in the bathroom mirror; tired but not worried, the stoic mask he’s mastered over the years remaining intact.

Not that he _was_ worried, you’d come around and the herbivore was off somewhere licking his wounds. Hibari could still feel the effect of the poison on the edges of his muscles. Possibly a nerve agent used for paralysis, whatever it was he wasn't going to let it dominate his body. He flexes his shoulders and rolls his head to remind his body he wouldn’t succumb.

Faintly Hibari can hear you talking to Hibird in the other room. Slowly he turns the tap down so he can hear better. Not talking, singing. The Namimori anthem. He can’t help a little smile crossing his face as he closes the tap completely in favour of listening.

It’s not bad, you don’t know half the words but what you lack in lyrics you make up for with a soft gentle hum that compliments Hibirds own harmony. Quietly, Hibari moves to lean against the bathroom door and watch. Hibird has settled in your hands, no doubt enjoying the warmth of your body as you bend your head down to watch her ruffle her feathers against your thumb. He watches as you carefully attempt to stroke her, body a little stiff as it works through the poison. You manage successfully without hurting Hibird and he’s pleased. It was only after Hibird stops singing that you notice him standing in the door way listening.

As if trying to hide your embarrassment, you mention something about needing into the bathroom to patch yourself up. Hibari obliges, content that you don’t expect him to help.

It’s a while before you’re out, Hibari hears the buzz of the shower and doesn’t think anything of it until it shuts off a few moments later and your voice comes timidly from the bathroom.

“Kyouya-senpai, can you close your eyes?” you ask.

It takes Hibari a moment to understand why on earth you need him to do something so vulnerable and then it clicks. He doesn’t respond but respectfully he turns his head away as he hears the creak of the door, staring at the wall next to the bed.

Hibari hears the soft slip of your towel hitting the floor and his eyes pool round to look. Your supple body is outlined by the bright afternoon sun, highlighting the edges of your skin in its glow as his eyes take in the bandaged image of your form. You don’t notice him, back turned as you ruffle your hair dry with another towel, movements still a little stiff. Hibari slides his eyes back before he’s caught. Unsure why he even felt the need to look; you were prey, prey wasn’t supposed to be pretty.

Hibari hears you pick up your shoes and he already knows where you’re going.

It doesn’t take much to get in your way, you’re slower than usual right now. Hibari stands in front of the door and stares you down. A look that warns you not to take another step forward. Instead of backing off, your brow furrows. For a moment he thinks you might genuinely challenge him and the adrenaline sparks in his body.

“Kyouya-senpai, I need to go back.” you say as you move closer.

Hibari doesn’t need to reply. Instead he lets his body do the talking, standing over you, reminding you how much taller and stronger he is.

You don’t budge, eyes pinned to his. If Hibari can turn this into a fight, he will.

“There were documents in there, I need those otherwise this whole day is wasted.” you explain, as if he’s some kind of reasonable person who accepts words in place of an all-out battle.

He looks over you, bandages still visible through your shirt, and lets out a low huff. He has those documents and if he gives them to you, you’ll stay; not injury yourself further and his prey will be safe. Reaching into his jacket he pulls out the file he found on the floor and throws them at you before collapsing on the bed, so as not to give you the impression he cared.

You don’t say anything as you look between him and the file, wide eyed and confused. Instead you take a seat on the edge of the bed and flip through the information. Hibari can see you out the corner of his eye as he yawns preparing for a nap. You turn your head to him, lips parting to say something but you think better of it. He’s glad you understand this isn’t an invitation to talk.

A comfortable silence settles around the two of you as Hibari watches you work. You don’t say anything but you hand him a book from your bag in an attempt to entertain him while you circle and scan documents. You’re lying across one side of the bed, completely absorbed in reading. Stretched out on your stomach, perched on your forearms; you’re not touching him by any means. Despite the small space on the bed you’d managed to avoid him as he sat on the bed idly reading a few sentences here and there. Mind half on the book, other half observing you.

Hibari feels satisfied with the arrangement. No need for words or touching, you understood his boundaries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Chapter 5 has been rewritten so if you wanna go scroll through some tsundere Gokudera you're welcome)


	23. And F You Too (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All you ever do is fight

 

Gokudera had been uncharacteristically quiet, only asking a few questions as you sat kicking your legs one the edge of the hotel bed, trying to calm your nerves.

“Are you . . .  feeling okay?” he asks gesturing to the bandages peeking out from the arm of your t-shirt.

“It’s fine, just a few cuts.” You reply, purposefully down playing the intensity of your wounds. It had been a struggle to get Hibari to part with you, no doubt Gokudera would try shout at you for being so reckless as to go back out into the field after such injuries. Normally you’d agree, but this was a time sensitive mission, you couldn’t afford any setbacks.

He doesn’t appear to believe you as he moves to say something but stops, mouth half open before closing it promptly and letting his eyes slide to look at the wall ahead of him.

“Do you need me to explain anything again?” you ask hoping to coax some kind of conversation out of him. Angry Gokudera was better than silent Gokudera any day.

“Well there’s this as well.” You sigh as you hand him over the list of duties Reborn gave you. It’s offensively long and you’re sure Reborn just wanted to take advantage of the debt you owed him for finding information on your sister. You wait for him to get pissed but he doesn’t. Instead he inhales deeply and mumbles something about managing it with careful planning.

You hesitate before taking back the list and rolling it up checking it was still definitely Gokudera under there. You brush it off, he’s probably just trying to get focused. You mention there’s also a chance your sister is in the area you’re visiting and you’d be doing a little searching on your trip. His face doesn’t change, remaining a passive blank slate.

“Your sister huh.” It’s not really a statement or a question more just a conformation.

“Yeah, the last mission, I got this picture from the Varia informant team.” You show him the picture you’ve held so preciously in your shirt pocket since you returned from your mission with Hibari.

He studies it hard. “She looks like you.”

“Duhhhh!” you laugh and rub your fist on Gokuderas head playfully. “She’s my sister idiot, who else would she look like?” you wait for Gokudera to shout at you, tell you off for being so familiar with him but he doesn’t. Instead he just waits as your fist awkwardly slows over his head.

 It felt like Gokudera was holding back but you couldn’t figure out why. He hadn’t asked many questions over the course of the journey and every time you tried to get a reaction out of him he went quiet. You never thought you’d miss Gokudera arguing but as you went over the mission briefing again you started to think you’d give anything to have him shout at you. At least it would be a distraction from the nerves taking hold of you.

You picked up your bag and with a deep sigh told him you’d meet at the rendezvous in an hour. If you were late he could go on without you, you’d call if anything went wrong.

There’s not so much as a word of acknowledgement as you exit out the door. For some reason it pains you.

 

The drop goes off without a hitch and within minutes you’re holding it. The notebook the Varia found after chasing your sister. It’s almost too much, you can’t stop your hands from shaking as your attempt to carefully tear open the package.

You catch yourself just in time. You can’t do this here out in the open. You still had an hour before you had to meet Gokudera, you could sneak back to the hotel room and do it there.

The note book is cold black leather, tattered and well used with dog earned pages and a worn spine. You breath catches as you imagine what’s inside. Maybe she’d left clues, maybe it’s a diary she kept while she was captured. The thoughts overwhelmed you, so much that you almost couldn’t bring yourself to open it. The anticipation and anxiety flooding your system.

Finally, _finally_ , you pull yourself together enough to open the first page. It’s in code. The whole thing a neatly written gibberish. It’s insane, you’re eyes dart around looking for patterns, grammar, _anything_.

“WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN?!” a loud voice blasts through he hotel room interrupting your work.

“Gokudera-kun.” You head shoots up, it’s dark outside, you didn’t realise how long you’d been staring at the notebook.

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN SHOW UP WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?! I WAS WO-“ he takes a deep breath as if stopping himself.

You check your phone, three missed calls and 15 texts from Gokudera, progressively getting more and more demanding.

“I’m sorry.” you say honestly, unable to retaliate when you knew you’d fucked up by losing track of time.

“YOU’RE _SORRY?!_ WHAT FUCKING GOOD IS SORRY? YOU WANT TO BE PART OF THE VONGOLA BUT ON YOUR FIRST FUCKING MISSON YOU DON’T EVEN SHOW UP?! AND YOU THINK SORRY FIXES THAT?!” he shouts, fisting curling into tight balls.

“Okay first of all this is NOT my first mission, by a long shot. And second it’s not like it was dangerous, showing face at an allies party and grabbing a briefcase is something you can more than handle.” You snark back, refusing to let Gokduera shout at you like that. “unless you’re admitting you need my help for something so simple.”

That gets him, a huge huff escaping his lips as he all but glares at you. He’s pissed, but he can’t really blame you without admitting he either A) cares or B)thought he would need your help. Two things Gokudera hates admitting.

“Whatever, you clueless fucking woman.” He barks.

You can’t help but laugh at his usual insult.

“WHAT?!”

“Nothing, im just . . . glad you’re back to your usual self.

Gokudera looks at you like you’re a complete idiot.

“You were so quiet on the way over, I thought something had happened.” You follow up, putting the note book down. He’s still looking at you, belligerently.

“You . . . you thought something had happened?” he repeats as if your mocking him.

“Yeah well you didn’t say anything, you were all stoic and withdrawn. You didn’t even fight me off when I made fun of you, It was weird.” You half joke glad to finally clear the air.

He’s visibly pissed off. “I was trying to keep calm! You ignored me for days after valentine’s day then invite us on this stupid group date, then disappear off with Kyouya on some random mission then come back and the only reason we’re talking is when we’re fighting what the hell am I supposed to think is going on?”

“Oh come on” You shout. “I can’t believe you even thought that stupid message was from me! Was it not so incredibly obvious it was fake?! You get off the bed and throw a pillow at him. “I was in so much trouble, and you couldn’t even figure out a fake text! How am I the clueless one?!”

He grabs the pillow and throws it back a little harder than he intended as it smacks you right in the face. “How was I supposed to know what was going on. You didn’t even say anything you just disappeared!”

You tore the pillow from your face and grabbed your staff leaning on the bedside table, breath staggering from all the frantic shouting. “You’re my friend you’re supposed to know me better from some stupid romantic text.” You charge at him just missing his body and he steps out the way.

“Oi don’t ruin the hotel room!” He grabs your staff and yanks it out the wall along with you. It’s an unwise move and lands you on top of him.

You’re both breathing heavily and want nothing more than to rip his stupid head off his stupid shoulders for his stupid ignorance. “Ohhh Gokudera-chan you make my heart go doki doki with your bad boy attitude.” You wiggle your body around, using a mocking tone in your voice.

This seems to be the final straw as he grabs your shoulders and rolls over on top of you. “Well maybe if you hadn’t kissed me I would’ve known better.” He shouted in anger. That gets you to stop. That gets your whole attitude on hold. _You . . . you kissed him?_

The mix of shock and confusion on your face must tell him somethings off because he lets his grip on you loosen. You slide out from under him and prop yourself up on your elbows.

“I kissed you?”

You cut Gokudera off in a groan before he can answer. “Valentines day.” He pulls back sitting on his knees, looking at the floor. You look at him for confirmation. He nods avoiding meeting your eyes.

“What . . . what happened?” you ask almost afraid to put it in place with the actions that followed.

 “You know what happened.” He grumbles, suddenly seeming to regret bringing it up.

“I don’t.” you say, words hanging in the air as an awkward silence builds a wall between the two of you.

You wait for him to say something, anything. “Gokudera i—"

“It doesn’t even matter okay! Just . . .fucking forget about it” His momentary sadness is replaced with trademark anger. “I’m . . .i’m gonna turn in for the night.” Gokudera gets up, not bothering to remove his clothes he pulls the covers over him and lays down on the bed making a point to turn away from you. You release your elbows and fall back onto the floor sadistically savouring the slight pain of the impact. “Damn that newspaper host.” You whisper crossing your forearms over your eyes.


	24. Stolen Treasures (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're not paying attention to him

The room is empty when you awake. It’s early afternoon and the sun has already drenched the hotel room in a bright warming beam. To your surprise there’s a note left on your bedside table.

 _I’ve_ _taken care of the list reborn gave you. Don’t hurry back._

You curse yourself for not handling the situation better. What would you have said anyway you reasoned. Kyouya barely believed you when you told him, no way Gokudera would buy the truth. You rack your brain trying to recall any kind of interaction with him but everything from the day remains a pink haze.

The journey back was torment. You couldn’t focus on decoding the notebook as your mind replayed the argument from the previous night. The look of confusion and anger on his face, his sudden turn to bed. It all painfully swayed around in the back of your head popping up every now and then to replenish the guilt in your gut.

Some higher, more logical part of your brain tells you that you should study when you get back, exams are coming, but the poke of the leather note book in your jacket pocket called to you. Maybe just a few more hours with it.

When you awake you find the corner of a piece of paper stuck to your drooling mouth. Wiping it away you pull your head up and allow your eyes to focus in on the mess of notes and diagrams in front of you. You’d really let yourself fall asleep like this you thought as you rubbed your head checking the time on your phone. You let out an audible yell as you realised you only had half an hour to get ready for school. Picking up a skirt and shirt off the floor you hop around your room grabbing the books and pencils on your desk and shoving them into your bag.

You make it just as the bell goes. As luck would have it there is no sign of Kyouya yet.  There was a big lecture form your teacher as he prepped you for upcoming exams you would have been listening but as soon as your hand found the leather note book from you trip it was all you could focus on. You propped up a large text book to hide your non-class related work and let you mind run. No theory was too abstract or far out.

You experimented with several Latin based languages to no avail. You became so focused on solving the puzzle before you that it took Kyoko several nudges to bring you out of your trance and inform you it was lunch. You laugh at yourself and thank her for breaking your concentration. You hadn’t realised how hungry you were. Reaching into your bag you remembered you hadn’t the time to make lunch for yourself today.

 

Reluctantly you left the classroom in search of a nearby vending machine. You brought the note book with you in case inspiration struck. As you walked down the long, crowded hallway you felt your body turn to autopilot as you weaved in and out of crowds. Someone knocked your shoulder but you let it slide.

Or you would have if it wasn’t for the cold aurora suddenly filling the space behind you that sent shivers down your spine. The look on his face told you all you needed to know regarding your passing interaction. You bow, apologising and ignoring his drawn tonfas. You didn’t have time for a fight right now.

As if annoyed by your actions Kyouya follows behind and hits you, notably in a very gentle manner, on the back with one of his tonfas. He _was_ going to draw a fight out of you today. It’d been too long since he’d seen the fighter in you.

You didn’t have time for this. Without losing your place in the notebook you spun round and kicked the boy unwisely standing too close to you. He’s thrown back and a sadistic smirk can be seen just under the length of his fringe. “I’m going to bite you to death.”

You didn’t need to look to know he was charging at you in his classic one two move, you recalled last time he’d followed it up with a sweep move to knock you off your feet. Accordingly, you step aside for the first hit and jump back before he has a chance to execute the second or third. Dodging him was a lot easier than fighting. You didn’t want to drag this out. Thinking on your feet you ducked into the girls bathroom.

He couldn’t follow you in here without breaking Namimori student conduct rules. You breathe a sigh of relief and perch yourself against the sink deciding to spend just a few more minutes with the notebook to allow him to calm down.

The bell for end of lunch rings and it’s the only thing that catches your attention. Dammit you thought, you could lose hours in this thing if you weren’t careful. Dog earing the page you walked out the bathroom forgetting why you’d gone in in the first place. The cold hard metal cracking off your shoulder is a harsh reminder. “Kyouya-senpai” you whimper as you grab your arm in pain.

He hadn’t meant to hit you so hard. He thought you would have been prepared. You would have stepped back, defended like you always did. You’d been so absorbed in that damn notebook you’d forgotten about him. He didn’t like that thought. He took the book from your hand and opened it. Abruptly you smacked it away from him. You were angry now.

“Don’t touch that.”

At last, a reaction. Pocketing the book in his blazer, he drew his batons. There’s a fire in your eyes and he could tell it was going to be an interesting fight. You pursued him up to the roof top where he finally stops, turning round only the begin his attack. The bottom of the two batons fell out to reveal a small chain with a spiked weight at the end. He’s a little disappointed to see you didn’t hesitate, instead you ran head first into the now spinning chains. Sliding underneath he recognises an old tactic when he sees it and lower his batons allowing the spiked spinner to your arm.

“Damn it.” You shirk away as he manoeuvres away from you, savouring the small look of frustration on your face. Finally pulling out your staff you chose to go for a full on offensive tactic.

Grabbing your staff tight you hold it vertical and run towards all too smug looking guardian. Last moment possible you strike your staff at an angle in front of you and vault over a confused Kyouya. You let go and land directly behind him grabbing the blazer off his back and catching your staff as it completes its fall.

Your hand falls onto empty space as you reach inside the pocket. You look back at him to see the precious notebook held between his pale fingers. His face so smug you could punch him into the ground and feel no remorse. The cloud guardian was messing well beyond his means. As you move to tackle him again, you noticed a strange leather whip lash at your feet. You twisted around to see a blonde hair boy too old to be a student standing on the roof. You glance at Kyouya who instantly seems annoyed by the mans mere presence. You try to take advantage of his momentary distraction but another lash catches your attention as the whip wraps around your hand as you go in for a strike.

“Ah attacking students again are we Kyouya?” The tall blonde man’s words seemed to annoy Kyouya in a way you haven’t quite seen before. Like an animal resenting its handler. If it wasn’t for the urgency of the situation you’d probably have laughed.

 

“I’m sorry but I need to borrow Kyouya for a while.” He smiles politely. You recognise him as _someone_ , but his name escapes you. “If you don’t mind I have some business with him first.” You shove off the whip strapped round your already injured arm. He looks at you a little more seriously this time, tilting his head slightly. “Have we met before?”

He does look familiar. It’s possible you recognise him from the extensive files you made on the Vongolas family ties. To be polite you shake your head, wanting to focus instead on the matter at hand. “Ah! You’re the disciplinary member and guardian Kyouyas been telling me about.”

You question this intensely, Kyouya barely cared for those kind of compliments, and you wondered if the blonde was saying it simply to wind Kyouya up as you notice he’s now glaring at the older boy. He picks Kyouya up by the scruff of his collar and drags him off the roof before you have a chance to questions his statement further. You follow after them but as you run down the stairs they disappear. If you were the kind of person to swear, you’d do it now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consistent view point if for nerds


	25. Displacement (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera and feelings don't exactly go well together

It wasn’t any of his business, Gokudera told himself as he stared at the dark-haired guardian across the crowded hallway filled with students leaving for the day. If Hibari had a notebook that looked like the one you’d received what did it matter? Even if for some strange reason that wasn’t the case and he’d taken it from you, what authority did he have to go over there and take it back?! He grumbled to himself as he tried to drown out the annoying Baseball Idiots chatter.

“Gokudera-kun?” the Baseball Freak had stopped talking and was looking at him now.

He scolded himself, knowing it really wasn’t any concern of his, but the cloud guardian was reading that note book _right in front of him._

“I’ll be right back.” He mumbled as he followed Hibari down the school corridors and unwisely into the disciplinary room.

He wasn’t scared of Hibari by any means, bastard was asking for an ass kicking every minute of the day, but he wasn’t exactly sure why he felt the need to go after him and get that _stupid_ notebook. A notebook that had not only lead you to miss out on your first mission together, and had done nothing but _distract_ you since you got back. You’d barely spoken on the morning walk to school, nothing but a small nod when Yamamoto had addressed you directly to make sure you weren’t completely absorbed in its contents. You had such a one track mind Gokudera could kick you for you ignorance sometimes.

“Oi, where’d you get that note book.” Gokudera scowled, actively ignoring the threatening aura that surrounded the taller boy. Hibari didn’t look up, instead continued leafing through the pages carelessly. “It’s none of your business herbivore.”

“You took it, didn’t you?!” He grits his teeth, running his hands along the trusted dynamite around his belt.

Hibari made no effort to hide a smug smile, the temptation of a fight riling him up in moments. He tucks the notebook into his pocket he stood up and draws his batons, physically egging the storm guardian to attack him.

Hibari’s the first to attack, unwilling to resist the call of a fight, slashing his baton against Gokuderas torso. It connects and the dull thud of metal against muscle seems to amuse the sadistic cloud guardian. Another strike whips his face and the immediate pain is blinding. Gokudera retaliates with some well-placed bombs, two explosions are enough to knock his opponent off kilter. The aftermath leaves the room in a dimly lit situation, filled with smoke.

It’s hard to see, but Gokudera needs that right now. He’s already planning three, four steps ahead when he hears Hibari approaching from the right. The baton misses him and that’s his cue, the cloud guardian having to come close to compensate for the lack of vision. Gokudera swings, fist connecting with the side of the cloud guardians head, enough to distract him while Gokudera aims to rip the blazer off him.

Hibari catches his arm with a swift jolt of his baton.

“Im going to bite you to death.” Hibari swears but he’s too late. The smoke providing more than enough cover for him to slip out undetected.

Gokudera clutched the note book tight in his hand He’d been hit pretty hard but he could ignore the pain for a little longer he thought to himself as he trudged back to the Vongola house.

 

For the second time Gokudera in a month found himself waiting for you, leaning across the banister that lined the landing of the top floor. It was still bright as the evening spring sun refused to let go of the waning day, stretching every inch of itself across the hall. Your head appears without warning and the bottom of the stairs and gradually the rest of you comes into view.

“Clueless woman--,” he begins but you cut him off.

“What happened to you?!” You approach him cautiously eyeing up his bruises. “Why aren’t you at the infirmary?” It’s a question; half caring, half irritation as he realises how much of a mess he looks after his fight. “That’s not important right now woman!” he vented.

“Of course it’s important! Geez get in here.” you grab his hand and drag him into your room, dumping him down on your bed as you grab a first aid kit and the balm Yamamoto lent you. There must be a few more bruises then he’s accounted for as he watches your eyes tally up his visible wounds. Gokudera can hear you sigh and this _really wasn’t how it was supposed to go_. He’d wanted to produce the notebook to you, see the relief on your face, maybe you’d even thank him. Instead here he was, on the receiving end of your last nerve.

“Just what the hell were you doing?! Hold on, this is gonna feel weird.” You unscrew the top of the balm and lightly begin massage it into the bruise on his jaw.

“Well ifs noft reflyl muy fauwlt.” his words come out muffled as you apply more pressure to his cheek and Gokudera decides there’s not much point answering until you’re done.

“You know what, just relax. Whatever stupid fight you got into I’m sure the other guys much worse.” he grumbles at this. As strange as it was, Gokuderas mind told him there was something in the fact you’d chosen to patch him up. Whatever you had said on your last mission, the fact you didn’t remember kissing him, you still cared on some level, even just a little. You begin working his arm carefully holding it up to inspect the marks, your brow furrows as something clicks in your head.

“Were you fighting Kyouya-senpai?” you ask, face marked with irritation as you point to the long straight bruise across his arm. He scowls a little and pulls his arm quickly from your hand. “Like I said it’s not important.”

“You can’t go around picking fights with other guardians. Especially not Kyouya-senpai.” You sigh looking more tired than annoyed as you rub the bridge of your nose.

“He’s ruthless, he won’t stop until he’s drawn blood, or worse.” you scold.

“You’re one to talk. You two always fight!” Gokudera snaps back before he can stop himself, _who the fuck were you to tell him who he could and couldn’t fight?!_ He shifts himself off the bed before you can berate him any further.

“That’s different!” You retort giving up on the bruise and staring at him. “I know how to end a fight with Kyouya-senpai, you’d end up blowing the whole school up before you got anywhere!” you retort, not bothering to hide your exasperation now.

“Maybe if I did he’d stop being such a bastard!”

“Gokudera-kun!”

“Maybe he wouldn’t do things like steal your note book too!” Gokudera digs into his pocket and launched the ragged journal towards you.

“Happy White Day clueless woman.” he huffs as he leaves.

 “White days not till tomorrow idiot!” He hears you shout hopelessly, at a now empty room.


	26. White Day (Hibari,Yamamoto)

You didn’t sleep much that night. Every time you thought your mind had settled another theory for translation sprung up and wouldn’t stop pounding round your head until it had been proven wrong. It was only after you cancelled the third alarm on your phone you noticed the sun had risen. Rubbing your tired eyes, you made the executive decision to shower and change before heading into school.

It was all you could focus on as your auto-piloted your way through the morning, barely focusing on class as you applied hypothetical translation after hypothetical translation. Finally coming up for air you notice your usual group of friends in a happy frenzy. Joining them you ask what all the commotion is about noting that Gokudera is still avoiding eye contact with you. They explain they’ve agreed on the class theme for the school festival.

“A tea ceremony?” you ask for confirmation. They nod. Haru in particular seeming enthused by the idea.

“It’ll be so wonderful Angel-chan. Just picture it! Everyone in Kimonos! The smell of matcha everywhere! We can have cakes and painting and flower arranging!” Her eyes are caught in a fantasy a she goes on to describe everything in her head. You smile and laugh a little. “Don’t forget we have a limited budget Haru.”

It’s Yamamoto who reminds everyone you’re partly in charge of handling the running of the festival. You cringe, having completely forgotten about it. You make a mental note to find out just what you needed to do before the day ended.

“Ma it sounds like fun though!” the baseball player said leaning back on his chair both arms positioned casually behind his head.

“Oh, Haru, Kyoyko-chan do you know where I could get a Kimono?” You rub the back of your head shyly. “I’ve never really done a traditional Japanese event before.”

They both look shocked but agree gleefully to help you after school. Satisfied you pull up a chair and share your lunch while you give the notebook another look over.

 

Kimono shopping didn’t take long, and you found chatting with the girls an easy pass time as high parts of your brain toyed with symbols scrawled across the notebook.

 “Hey, did you get anything for white day?” Haru asks, changing the conversation.

You hesitate to tell them about Gokudera semi-kind-of-white-gift-kind-of-shouted-at-you-and-stormed-out-afterwards gesture. Thankfully Kyoko has an answer ready.

“Yeah! These were on my desk this morning.” She fumbles in her bag and pulls out a small pink box with three questionably shaped chocolate. A quick glance at the note and you can tell it’s your bosses handwriting.

“Haru got chocolate too!” she says excitedly as she pulls out a similarly coloured box.

“How about you, I bet you got loads right?” Haru asked turning to you.

You replayed the morning in your head, but couldn’t remember getting _anything._ But then you’d hardly even looked at your desk when you’d been in class, eyes glued to the notebook.

“It’s okay, don’t feel bad, how about we get chocolate together?” Haru says bringing your thought process down to earth.

“I like that idea.” Kyoko smiled.

The chocolate shop you chose was quaint with a large window display full of mouth-watering options.

It takes Haru and Kyoko a while to decided and you politely decide to take another crack at your decryption theory. Lost in thought, it’s Haru’s not so gentle nudge that brought you back to the real world.

“Isn’t that HIbari-san?!”

You look up and to your surprise there he is. You watch him quietly as he purchases several items and leaves, either refusing to acknowledge you or not noticing the entourage of staring girls.

“Is he making chocolates today?!” Haru nearly screams in excitement. “Can you imagine Hibari-san giving chocolates to someone?” Kyoko and you both laugh at the idea.

“I can confirm Kyouya-senpais only emotions are pissed-off-bite-you-to-death or nap time” You smile, enjoying sharing what was a long held personal theory with them. Even if they weren’t official Vongola guardians, though god hoping if your boss ever got the guts, they were part of the family.

 

Waving good bye and clutching your bag you head back into the Vongola house. To your surprise Yamamoto room door is wide open. You stick your head in checking just in case an intruder had gotten careless. Thankfully it was empty, as you turn around you’re unexpectedly face to face, or face to chest, with a nearly naked towelled Yamamoto. The heat catches in your cheeks as you apologise profoundly shoving your hands over your eyes.

He chuckles, not seeing to mind. “I was actually hoping I’d run into you.” He walks casually into his room and rummages around in his bag. You can’t help but notice how defined his back muscles are with the water from the shower running down between his shoulder blades.

“Here!” He proudly holds out a small screw top tin.

You look at him quizzically before taking it. “It’s wax.” He beams proudly.

There’s no real information except the word WAX in big letters on the top of the lid.

“Um . . . thank you” You smile deciding it was the thought that counted.

“Your staff must be getting pretty damaged with all the sparring you do, right? It was on sale, I thought maybe you’d find it useful. ” His grin is infectious as you felt the warmth of his gesture.

“Thank you Yamamoto-kun.” You can’t help but grin back.

“That’s actually. . . really helpful!” You go to hug him but stop yourself when you remember exactly how little fabric there is between the two of you. This doesn’t stop Yamamoto as he decides he needs to spin you around as he pick you up to hug you. That boy really didn’t understand how insulting it was to pick up small people at every opportunity. Not that you were small but _fuck_ everyone was small compared to Yamamoto you thought to yourself unable to keep any real grudge against him.

“I’m so glad you accept my gift.” He grins.

The small thud of cloth hitting the floor strikes another gesture from you, shielding your eyes. “Yamamoto-kun, your towel!”

Before he has time to say anything you excuse yourself, being careful to avert your eyes from anything exposing.

You spend the rest of the late afternoon looking over the school festival agenda and lazily waxing your staff. The stuff went on like a dream and you had to admit upon further inspection the bottom of your staff had put up with a lot over the past few months.

Only one thing caught your attention on the agenda but you figured you could bring that up with HIbari in the next meeting or if you saw him on night patrol. You ignored the familiar uneasy feelings that lingered around the school building at night. It wasn’t something you had set out to do but to try and distract from the creepy atmosphere you decided to take another look at the notebook.

Without really thinking about it you found yourself in the disciplinary chair, perching yourself on a nearby desk, scribbling on the back of a committee agenda determined that you were onto something with your decoding theory. As you continued to write your hand knocked against something smooth. Looking up from the notebook you spot a rectangular white cardboard box next to you.

Curious you check the pink label attached. It had your name on it and the words “Don’t forget about exams” in meticulous hand writing. You blink a few times, checking you weren’t mis-reading it in the dim moonlight of the disciplinary room. There was no way those were from who you thought they were from. It looked like Hibari’s handwriting, the message would definitely have been something he’d say, the closest thing you’d ever received from him that could be called affection. You _had_ seen him buying chocolate supplies today. _Nah, no way_.

As if trying to convince yourself you’d got it wrong you opened the box up. Inside were four beautifully shaped chocolates with stripes of icing drizzled over each. Picking one up you look around. You wouldn’t put it past him to use it as a distraction while he instigated a fight, but to no avail. You sniff it cautiously. It didn’t smell like any poison you knew. Not that you thought Hibari would poison you but after your encounter with the Bel you weren’t going to be caught unawares again.

Finally deciding it was safe you bit into the chocolate. The first taste that hits your tongue is a sharp bitterness that’s almost overwhelming, but that slowly fades and as you let it melt in your mouth, the taste becomes a smooth layering of sweet milk chocolate.

You hum contently as you pop another one into your mouth, this time welcoming the quick flash of bitterness before the sweetened centre. They’re wonderful, and if your head wasn’t already calling back to the notebook you might have been able to figure out why Hibari had made them for you. Putting the now nearly empty chocolate box into your bag you returned to your notebook decoding. You could do another patrol in 5 minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry i couldn't resist uploading two chapters at once <3 Thank you so much for all the bookmarks, subscipritons and kudos <3 <3


	27. A Studied Approach (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You really annoy him

Gokudera was still mad at you. Or at least that’s what he tried to remind himself as you walked over with an almost hopeful look on your face, body language slightly submissive as you approached.

“Gokudera-kun?”

He huffed, putting up a physical front, crossing his arms and pointedly not making direct eye contact. Between shouting at him after retrieving your notebook, and _somehow_ forgetting that you’d kissed him, you were already on thin ice. No, not thin ice; you’d never had the chance to get on thin ice, you were just drowning, beneath him, not worth a second look.

“I kind of need your help.” You sigh, searching for eye contact or some sign of interaction.

Gokudera didn’t say anything. Part because he had been expecting some kind of apology, and part because that caught him totally off guard.

“Could you . . .maybe give me a hand studying before exams?” you continue, and Gokudera can see you looking at your feet as one shoe rubs into the wooden floor of the classroom.

He smirks. “Spending too much time with your head in that notebook?” It comes out before he can stop it, and meaner than he meant.

Immediately, any subservient demeanour you had was gone, replaced by annoyance. “You know what, asshol—"

“Ah, Snow-chan, are you looking for Gokudera-kun’s help too?” Juidame cuts in before you can finish.

The storm guardian perks up at his boss’s voice. If Juidame needed help, that was his primary focus.

“How about we study together? That would be alright, wouldn’t it, Gokudera-kun?” he smiles at you. If Gokudera didn’t treasure Juidame, he would have declined the idea instantly.

Gokudera loves Juidame’s house; it gives a sense of home and comfort as he walks through the door. There’s a strong smell of home cooking, and I-pin can be heard helping Nana in the kitchen.  It annoys him when he turns around to see you staring, eyes rudely soaking up every inch of the house as Juidame leads you to the living room, as if you’re greedily trying to memorise it all.

It took Gokudera a while but after moment he put his finger on it, why this whole afternoon was annoying him so much, why _you_ annoy him so much.

You’d settled too fast. Too quickly you’d slid into everyone’s lives, making yourself a welcome presence. When Lambo stomped and sauntered through, crying about being out of grape flavoured candy, you took him in your arms and coddled him until he stopped crying.

When Yamamoto, Ryohei, Kyoko and Haru dropped round, you insisted on giving up your seat to Kyoko so she could sit next to Juidame. You and Ryohei chatting away loudly about training regimes and fighting moves, even getting Haru involved by talking about all the fancy costumes ring fighters used.

You fit so easily against the Baseball Idiot, who seemed to gravitate towards you until you were practically cuddling into each other, showing him and Juidame how you’d worked out the latest problem. And Juidame, Juidame seemed to enjoy your company so much it wasn’t fair. You just plonked yourself down in the middle of the family and made everyone _like_ you. So kind to everyone, except him. You were so perfect, so quick to catch onto little gestures and quirks of everyone in the family, so protective of Juidame. So ready to be whatever the Vongola needed, and he couldn’t stand it.

As the evening grows long the crowd of visitors thins out, leaving Juidame, you and him to return to your studies. Through the scramble you and Juidame have ended up on the couch either side of him.

“And then you change to plural by adding “I” or “us” if it’s a Latin rooted word.” Gokudera continues, keeping his eye on Juidame as he explains. His boss had done so well today, despite the racket of the others he had genuinely cherished the time spent with him.

Juidame yawns as he nods his head.

“Ah, are you sleepy, Juidame? I’ll make some tea!” Gokudera jumps up, nearly knocking you over. The kitchens not far and a cup of coffee would do him wonders as well. It’s late, so he tries to be as quiet as possible as he blindly explores the dimly moonlit room. As he works, his ears focus in on soft whispers coming from the lounge. Curiously he leans his head out the kitchen door. Maybe Juidame is saying something important.

“Hey, boss, can I ask you something?” Your voice is faint as you stumble slightly over your words.

Gokudera can only assume, due to Juidames generous nature, that he nods to your question.

“You like Kyoko-chan, right?”

This prompts a series of stutters and _ehhhs_ from the Vongola boss. Stupid clueless woman, why would you ask such a blunt question, did you want Juidame to be uncomfortable?!

“Well, uh, that’s  . . . you see, um . . .  ” He can hear Juidame is trying to cover for himself.

“I’m not going to tell on you.” you laugh, seeming to calm the atmosphere a little. “I was actually wondering. . . what it’s like?”

A noise resembling a question comes from his bosses lips.

“Ma, it’s silly really. I got this gift on white day and I . . . You’re our boss, right, and . . .you’ve liked Kyoko-chan for a long time. I thought maybe you’d have some advice.” You were blabbering, but the mention of a present on white day made Gokudera’s heart skip a beat. As quietly as possible he steps closer to the living room.

“Its . . .it’s kind of amazing. When Kyoko-chan’s in a room it’s like she’s all I can see. She doesn’t even have to do anything, and she makes me happy.” Juidames voice is filled with affection as he shares his feelings. “Whenever I think about being a better person I imagine it’s for her, w-with her even.”

Gokudera knew Juidame well enough to know that stutter probably meant he was blushing. “And even though being a mafia boss in training is tough, I hope one day I can be the kind of person she wants to be with.”

This answer seems to satisfy you as a pleased sigh escapes your lips. “That’s really amazing Boss”. That was his Juidame, he knew one day he’d be able to say it to Kyoko-chan! There’s a soft drawn out silence before you speak again.

“So what do I do if I want to tell someon-“ you cut yourself off. Gokudera moves closer to the lounge, heart thudding, unwilling to miss the rest of a conversation that could be about him.

The silence remains as he waits with baited breath. Nothing. Not a word. He begins to panic. What if something happened? What if Juidame is in trouble? Reacting without thinking, he throws open the slightly ajar door, dynamite ready.

He catches sight of you, still on the couch. Your eyes meet his and carefully you draw a finger to your lips. Juidame is asleep on you shoulder, eyes closed, and head lulled at a slightly uncomfortable looking angle.

“I think today was a bit much for boss.” you whisper, so quiet Gokudera finds himself walking over to get a better ear. He looks between you and his sleeping boss, taking a moment to process what has happened. “Is he really asleep?” he queries out loud.

As if showing off, you wave your free hand over Juidame’s face, who remains peacefully lost in slumber. You give a gentle shrug and gesture to your boss. Gokudera knows there’s a faint smile on his face as he carefully moves Juidame’s head from your shoulder. It’s good seeing boss so calm, reborn puts him through too much.

“Reborn works him too hard.” you murmur as if reading his thoughts.  You grab a blanket from behind the sofa and shimmy away so Gokudera can let his boss lie gently across the cushions.

“Shall I leave you to guard boss for the night?” you whisper with a knowing wink that catches Gokudera off guard for a few aching heart beats.

He manages a nod, sinking to the floor and letting his back rest against the sofa. Gokudera watches as you pick up your bag and give him a small wave before leaving.

There’s an overwhelming feeling of . . . relief? Sadness? washing over him as he watches you leave, tilting his head back to rest on the worn cushions of the family sofa. He found himself wondering if you could only focus on him when you were together. You did fight a lot but that didn’t seem to count in his head. He wondered if you felt happy when you saw him, or if he made your day the way Kyoko made Juidame’s. He didn’t stop thinking about it until his phone vibrated in his pocket.

 _I know I’m not your favourite person, but thanks for helping me today._  

He pouts. Gokudera wants to say something back. But what could he say? _No problem, I eavesdropped on a private conservation you had with Juidame and if you want to say thanks for the white day gift just fucking say it already because you drive me insane to the point you’re all I can think about?_

His phone goes again.

_And for getting my notebook back. I owe you._


	28. Thank You (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you say thank you to someone like Hibari?

After the whirlwind that was exams you were reluctant to spend the precious hours few hours left of the day in the disciplinary committee meeting, but you knew you had a duty. It’s quiet as you noted a few people had given into temptation and left instead of attending.  It was no surprise to see Hibari already writing up names for punishment. Five minutes passed before you decided no-one else was coming, it seemed pointless to hold a meeting with just the two of you.

So, you’d fought, hammering each other with violent swings, trash talking out the ears with threats of biting to death and name calling. Until Kusukabe entered and politely reminded Hibari about the festival schedule. The two of you reluctantly repositioning furniture and settling down at your respective desks.

Looking round, you let your eyes trace over at Hibari. He doesn’t stir from his writing. You shook your head, thinking how silly you would be to misjudge his gift. The chocolates were probably a courtesy on his part, Haru _had_ stated he was a stickler for tradition. You watched as he meticulously drafts up the school festival schedule. His hand gliding effortlessly across the page, neat kanjis forming perfect lines, his head down, lost in focus.

You look down at your own blank piece of paper. Unsure if you want to break the peaceful focused atmosphere by saying something. What did people even say in Japan. _Thanks for the chocolates, by the way do you like me or is this a courtesy thing? Because I have no idea about romance or love but I like that you don’t talk much and the constant fights to the death are a major highlight._

You ponder what it means to like someone, to love them. You loved your sister, as absent a presence she was in your life. You liked Hibari, the fact he didn’t ask questions or prod into you past. You thoroughly enjoyed sparring with him, even if he didn’t know when to stop. You liked spending calm evenings on the rooftop, neither of you feeling the need for words as Hibird flitted between the two of you.

You sigh loudly enough for Hibari to look up. Catching his eye, you open your mouth to say something but the words stick in your throat.

You stumbled for a minute, feeling the stare of those steel  flecked steel eyes.

“What?” he asks bluntly.

Giving up on speaking, you shake your head and Hibari looks a little irate at your pointless interruption. Emotions, _feelings_ , weren’t exactly your forte. And to be fair neither were Hibari’s, which gave you an idea.

Hibari doesn’t look up when you place a fresh cup of green tea on his desk and take a seat next to him, but a gentle nudge of the white box he’d gifted you into his eyeline makes him stop. Helpfully, you pull one of the remaining two chocolates out and set it next to his mug.

There’s eye contact, Hibari watching as you carefully as you take the last chocolate and set it next to your own cup. Neither of you say anything, but you spread your notebook across the desk and set to work.  No need for words. Hibari understands as he nods slightly before returning to his work, the faint outline of a smile on his face as he does so.

Time passes peacefully, only when Hibari slides the completed festival schedule in front of you do you look up. The chocolate you shared with him is gone and there’s something of a satisfied aura around him as he gestures to the paper. Your eyes glaze over, still a little slow in your kanji comprehension, but Hibari is polite enough to allow you time to work it out.

“Oh! The maid café in classroom 2-B, it might get a little out of hand if they’re not careful. To be honest I’m surprised it got approved. What with how . . . unique the attraction of a maid is to men.”

He seemingly pondered this for a moment.

“Monitor it. If things get out of hand I trust you can deal with it.”

You check for yourself for a moment, making sure you haven’t misheard him. Was he _trusting_ you to keep an eye on something in Namimori?

“Understood Kyouya-senpai.”

As you get up to leave, a strange questions comes from the disciplinary head.

“Are you attending the festival?”

He’s still staring at the paper, drafting out a schedule, not gifting you his full attention.

“Yes, well a little. Our class is doing a tea ceremony and I’ll be attending to my duties as disciplinary committee member. I’m sure I’ll I find some time to enjoy the festival in-between” You state trying to figure out why he asked.

He nods and that seemed to be the end of it as he turned his full focus back to the paper. Speaking of the festival you thought, you’d have to practice putting on your Kimono. The last thing you wanted was for it to come undone during your ceremony.


	29. Festival Shenanigans (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Costumes to make Haru proud.

 

Yamamoto can hear you talking to Haru. To his surprise you’d shown up to the tea ceremony in your usual school uniform. As he gets closer he catches the end of your conversation.

“Actually, I’m kind of having a bit of trouble with it.” You say bashfully as you step behind the screen Haru had put up for everyone to change behind. “I get so far, and then the sash becomes a problem.”

You pull on the first few layers without fuss but then you can’t seem to twist round to tie your sash without fabric shifting out of place. Yamamoto laughs, you’d got too big a size.

“I can help!” He interjects with a smile, stepping behind the screen

 “My dad wears these from time to time in the shop, he always needs help.” He explains as his hands work quickly, adeptly folding and tucking in the sash at places you’d not quite been able to reach. He notices you look a little worried and bends down to whisper in your ear, “If this fails, there’s always super glue.”

As you turn to face him he gives you a playful wink, and if Yamamoto didn’t know better he would think your eyes were lingering just a little too long at the sight of him in a kimono.

 “T-thank you.” You say abruptly averting your gaze as your eyes meet his.

“You look great.” He chuckles and pulls back the screen.

The whole class room looked different today. Haru had gone all out with tapestry across the walls and several small campfire stoves in the centre of the room heating bubbling tea pots, surrounded by pillows and perfectly set utensils.

To his delight Yamamoto’s table is next to yours, and he makes light chat with you as you both set up. He gently asks if this is your first time doing a ceremony and you nod, cringing a little as you explain you’d watched videos late last night to try and get the hang of it. Yamamoto laughs, he had wondered why he could hear shamisen music coming from your room.

During a lull in visitors Yamamoto takes you over a few basics, the first being how to make sure the tea isn’t scalding hot like you’d managed to serve to a few _unfortunate_ students.

“Thanks Yamamoto-kun.” You say looking up and giving him one of those light smiles he’d quickly grown fond of.

Another few groups of students ebb and flow over the classroom. Yamamoto’s busy with his own ceremony when he notices the room go oddly quiet. He follows everyone’s line of vision. Hibari is standing in the door way. The students at your table scatter as he approaches, carrying that terrifying aura with him.

You rise to meet his glare. “You can’t go around scaring students like that, they aren’t causing trouble.” You don’t seem as affected by his presence as everyone else, for which Yamamoto is a little proud. “Does something need attending to?” you ask him, seemingly a little concerned by his sudden intrusion.

Hibari doesn’t speak for a while, opting instead to stare at you, as though the two of you are telepathic in your conversation.

“I’m here for the tea ceremony.” He says finally, the statement causing several scared noises to arise from the audience, now listening intently to the conversation.

“Hibari-sans such a traditionalist he probably couldn’t wait to come see this.” He hears Haru whisper excitedly.

Yamamoto can see you mentally stumbling over all the steps he’s taught you. You forget to set cutlery, miss out on the traditional greeting and as you move to start preparing cups, your hands shake. You hide it well it, but Hibari still scares you a little.

As you’re setting up the tray you reach for the tea pot and miss, knocking the hot green liquid over your kimono and the floor. Yamamoto moves to help, placing his hand over yours and giving you his best reassuring smile. It works, thankful eye contact signalling he’s made the right choice. As he assists you he can hear your breathing steady, along with your hands.

 “You damaged your Kimono.” Is the only thing Hibari says as you carefully present the cups.

“Class 2-B has spare uniforms.” He continues, and Yamamoto can’t help but think he’s getting a slight kick out of pointing out your mistake. “Check on them while you’re there.”

You don’t argue with your senpai but look back to mouth a quick thank you to Yamamoto as you exit out of the room.

It’s a long time before you’re back, long enough that a new group of students from his class take their turn for ceremonies. Yamamoto tries not to think about it as Tsuna and everyone decide to explore the festival. The class a few doors down is having a maid café and for some reason Haru is very excited about it, probably the costumes he reasons to himself.

Then Yamamoto hears your voice from inside, “Welcome master, how can I serve you today?”

There’s a faint tint of something dark in his mind as he enters the classroom and spots you fully decked out in a maid outfit.

It’s one hell of an outfit. The skirt so short and puffy it barely covers your thighs. Yamamoto watches as you try to tug it down, only for the attached flimsy white apron to jerk, revealing the top of your breasts. There’s so much on show, skin caressed by white ruffles and skimpy black fabric.  It’s a lot, and he has to take a moment to compose himself as he notices the thigh high stockings, his mouth feeling dry as he swallows.

Yamamoto is lost for words as you call students master and mistress, putting on a demure act as you present teas and cakes. There’s a pull in his body, his brain imagines what it’d be like to touch you. Hands ghosting over silky fabric onto untouched skin, maybe you’d call him master.

It’s Gokuderas voice that brings him back to reality, barely containing himself as snorting laughter erupts his entire body.

“You . . . as a maid!” The concept seemed beyond hilarious to Gokudera as he grabs his sides.

“Hahi, did you leave us for this maid café Angel-chan?” Haru looks mildly upset as you notice them standing in the door way. “We still want you, even if you messed up the tea ceremony. Hibari-san is scary and so mean we promise well give you easy customers from now on!”

You shake your head, and explain that the class wanted you to help out while your kimono dried.

“Ah that’s a shame Angel-chan! But I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to be a maid.” Haru says lapsing into a day dreamy gaze.

“Hey Tsuna-kun, do you think I’d make a good maid?” She mimes dusting off the Tsuna’s hair and bats her eyelashes.

“Uh, I , Umm . . . ” Tsuna stutters obviously having as much trouble as Yamamoto is with the whole _thinking_ thing.

“Would you guys like a table?” you interject, trying to calm the mood despite the obvious embarrassment on your cheeks.

“Angel-chan!” a voice chides from behind.

“Sorry!” you call back. “Sorry, would masters and mistresses like me to serve you?” you ask, bowing a little too far down as Yamamaoto can see the top of your chest and he has think of every baseball game he’s every lost to stay sane.

Gokudera’s snigger is still audible as you lead them over to a table and begin with the menu.

“Ah you’re just in time.” Another maid donned student says as she joins the table.

“Would you like to take part in our competition?” The student asks in a flirtatious manner.

“Since us maids are so lonely without a proper master or mistress we’re giving some lucky students the chance to spend the rest of the day with their own personal maid.” She beams at the rest of the group. “We’ve had a lot of interest already.”

“You’ve had interest?” Gokudera asked through muffled laughter. “Why, do men like a clueless maid?” This joke seems to amuse him even more as he slams his fist on the table and tries to cover his mouth to hide the sputtering laughter. The student seems confused by this but decides to brush over whatever comedy show Gokudera is currently having with himself. “Yes, Hibari-kun was very interested in winning the Shoji game.”

Yamamoto watches as your eyes widen at the mention of the cloud guardian.

“I’ll play!” he shouts a little too loudly. Gokudera turns to look at him as if he’s an idiot, and he’s about to say something when Haru pipes up.

“I’ll play too! I could do with someone to help with tidying up the classroom afterwards!” she sends a smile your way and you relax a little as everyone agrees to pitch in.

The games don’t take long, Hibari swiftly dispelling of Tsuna, Kyoko and Haru. Gokudera is up next but he refuses. Something about it being hilarious that you’d even manage a second as anyone’s maid.

That just left Yamamoto who manages to pull himself together when he realises he’s your last hope.

“Yamamoto-kun, have you ever played shoji?” you ask, looking him up and down like you’re trying to gauge your chances.

He nods proudly. “My dad keeps a board in the shop. He loves playing with the other old men.” He bends down a little so the others can’t hear. “Don’t worry I won’t let Hibari be mean to you.”

“I don’t think I’d mind being your maid for the day if you won.” You whisper back in a manner so quite Yamamoto almost misses it. He has to take a moment to shake the image from his head as he approaches the Shoji table. Hibari looks unfazed by Yamamotos approach.

“Good luck.” he beams as he takes a seat.

Yamamoto ignores the intense stare of the cloud guardian as he shuffles pieces around the board. There’s shouts and cheers as he takes a few of Hibari’s pieces, encouraging him on. Your voice is the one he hears clearest.

He’s doing well, Hibari has a few pieces in check but he can risk their sacrifice in pursuit of his king, as he staggers his pieces forward in an all-out affront. The cloud guardians expression gives nothing away but Yamamoto feels he’s got the upper hand.

Then he hears you curse, and Hibari’s stoic look flashes a wild smirk.

His king is taken, and the game is over.

 “We have a winner! Hibari Kyouya!” Everyone’s claps politely, throwing a mix of pitying and apologetic glances to you and Yamamoto. He stares at the board, unwilling to believe he’s lost, unable to risk looking up and seeing disappointment in your face. _He’d let you down._


	30. Intimacy (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's get closer

 

All kinds of ideas fly through you head as Hibari leads you down the school corridors. Was he going to make you do the school’s gym kit laundry? Or clean out the cafeteria? A much more severe thought entered your head as you imagine him using you as a punching bag for practice. Further thoughts do nothing but bring fear and tension into your mind. When Hibari finally drags you into the disciplinary room you feel your whole-body freeze, awaiting whatever horrible punishment he has in mind.

The sound of the committee room door locking behind you only serves to heighten your fear. You curse yourself for not finding a way to hide your staff on your persons, hand to hand you had no chance against him.

He steps towards you, and intuitively you take a few steps backwards till you feel the blunt edge of a desk bump against you. He doesn’t stop. Your eyes scan over his blank face, looking for any indication of his intentions. You can feel your breathing hasten as your eyes meet his, he was so close you could see every fleck of steel lilac in his piercing eyes.

His hand moves upward, grabbing at the fabric on the shoulder of your maid outfit; A simple action that makes you heart pound. You hadn’t thought he would be after you in this way. “Please.” You manage in an unintentionally pleading tone.

He doesn’t let go, but he stops pulling on your dress. “I’m not-“ but you can’t finish. You’re not what? Not sure what to do? Not sure how this kind of things works? Not sure if you want to?

A sharp tug causes the sleeve of your outfit to come off.

“Your arm.” He says point-blank, leaning forward and opening the drawer of the desk behind you, pulling out some bandages.

You stare at him confused. As usual he remains silent but pushes you onto the desk. Carefully he cradles your injured arm, winding tape around the bruised and beaten areas. You’d completely forgotten about the baton and whip injury. You were so used to being injured after your fights you’d just learnt to ignore it. To your own ignorance too, the bruise has taken over most of your upper arm and is turning a painful looking blue and green colour. You look up at Hibari. who is paying you no mind, focusing only on wrapping the tape without causing you any unnecessary pain.

It’s a comfortable silence as Hibari slowly tends to your injury. You watch him intently, seeing him so calm and quiet in contrast to the aggressive blood hungry guardian you were used to makes you wonder if there’s more to him. His touch is almost soft as he ties the bandage around your arm. He looks to you, finally meeting you gaze

A loud bang breaks the connection between the two of you. “Oi bastard, get off her!” It’s Gokudera, seemingly throwing himself against the locked disciplinary room door. “Don’t hurt her!”

“We saw you from the tree outside! Haru won’t stand for creepy guys. Don’t worry, we’ll save you!” Haru shouts.

You move to open the door but Hibari’s strong hand holds you in place. Instead he stops his actions, unlocking the door and stepping out. “Ange-chanl are you okay?” You hear Haru’s cry from just beyond the door. “Oi Hibari you can’t just go touching her like that.”

“It’s okay! Guys I’m fi-“ The door closes behind him and the sound of metal hitting flesh echoes back through the room, followed by the fading sound of scarpering feet. You wince and hold your arm as you recall just how intense Hibari could be when the tonfas were out. He returned silently - locking the door once again behind him.

“Did you have to fight them, they were just concerned about me.” You mumble not wanting to directly challenge him, but still make him aware he couldn’t just hit everything he didn’t like into submission. “They’re not the only ones.” He says as walks past you and pulls a book off the side table next to the sofa.

His words only further confuse you as he gestures to join him on the couch. You obey, wondering if the guardians temper has passed. His hands are warm as they grace yours, gifting the book. The title reads “Decoding Strategies from the War.”

“Your notebook.” He says flatly as if answering the question before you can ask.

You look at him, he doesn’t return the favour, seemingly finished with the conversation. You thank him anyway, opening the book and perching the notebook on the arm of the sofa, appreciating Hibari’s silent nature, the concertation and space it allowed you. The soft, sleepy, silent space.

The lasting light of the dusk sun is all you have to go by for time as you stretch out your arms, forcing them to flex against the firm padding of the sofa. There’s folded white fabric in front of you face and, as you roll onto your back you’re greeted with the face of the sleeping cloud guardian.

You can’t quite believe you’ve fallen asleep on the lap of your disciplinary head, let alone the fact he’s _allowed_ you to stay there. Your body slowly relays information to your brain as you roll back to your original position. Hibari’s arm is around your back, securing you on his lap. You’d fallen asleep on his lap and he’d let you live?  More importantly, how would you get out of this without waking him? What were the etiquette rules for falling asleep on your death happy senpai?

Taking a deep breath, you decided it was now or never. Slowly, inch by inch, you slide yourself out from under his arm and off the sofa.

You leave the sleeping guardian in the disciplinary room, locking the door behind him; less for his protection and more for the protection of anyone who dared disturb him. Keen to get out of the cheap maid outfit, you headed down to the lobby. You always kept a set of spare uniforms in your locker in case some poor student got theirs messy.

It was the feathery black spikes peaking up over the lockers that caught your attention.

“Yamamaoto-kun?”

He greets you, a tinge of concern on his face that only grows as he notices the bandage around your arm.

“Did he hurt you?” he asks, tentatively.

“N-no. I mean he did, a while ago. But he fixed it up.” You held your arm out to show it was still functional giving your most convincing _I’m-okay_ smile.

Yamamoto seems to believe you, his face returning to the usual loveable smile. “I’m glad.” He says, breathing a sign of relief

You look in your locker before cursing yourself, remembering you’d given your last spare uniform to another student. The look of disappointment must be visible on your face, prompting the rain guardian to ask what was wrong.

“I thought I had a spare uniform but . . . it’s gone.”

Without another word he reaches into his own locker, pulling out his pale blue baseball jersey. “Here.” He bends down and slides the jacket over your maid outfit. The jersey is warm and covers down to your knees.

Amusing yourself you wave your arms childishly, watching the excess sleeve fabric flail as you do so. This earns a friendly laugh from the guardian as he offers you his hand. “Should we head home?”

Cheekily you slap the excess sleeve into his open palm, denying him your hand. As you walk home together you take a secret joy in the musk of the rain guardians jersey that now surrounds you.


	31. Happy Birthday! (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even Yamamoto gets lonley

It didn’t happen often, but sometimes Yamamoto finds himself watching you. The light from the window adjacent to your seat in class laying an almost iridescent halo around your head, which rests in your hand as your eyes study the notebook that has been occupying you for months now.

Every now and then you’d shift. When you were particularly stressed you’d absentmindedly bite the pad of your thumb as if silently venting your frustration. He had learnt about the notebook from asking around. You were one of the few people to deny him information, most couldn’t wait to talk to him; he was popular, and he’d been told many times he was a great listener. But you, you never opened up to him like that, opting instead for simple quietness.

He loved those moments in turn - Whether it was walking home from class, reading in the library or just hanging out in your room, but Yamamoto longed to know more about you.

It was hard, although you seemed to enjoy spending time with him, a lot got in your way. It wasn’t uncommon for Yamamoto to go without seeing you for a few days; missions, the notebook, the disciplinary committee. Sometime the bond between the two of you felt tangibly delicate as it melded and meshed with the changing day to day,

Yamamoto reasons he should ask you to hang out, he’s missed you these past few days, as friends do, and could do with some of your company. He initially thinks of taking you to the batting cages, sharing an interest of his might prompt you to share something about yourself, but he then he remembered the last time you’d played baseball together and all but shattered the pitching machine. He thinks about it more as he watches you sigh, flipping over the pages of the worn book and toying your thumb across your lip.

He could always grab food with you: everybody loved food and he knows  _the_ best sushi place in town. Gathering up the courage he tears off a piece of his workbook and scribbles down a suggestion. Using his best aim he pitches it to your desk.

He chuckles a little as it catches you by surprise. Looking up, he smiles to let you know he’s the sender. You return the smile and slowly open the note. Taking care to read it properly.

Quickly you scribble something back, aiming the note ball poorly and hitting Gokudera instead. You cringe and laugh a little as he grumpily throws it back at you.

To save any more trouble you open up the note to show your answer.

 _Busy today, but thank you_. You smile and return to your notebook. He’s a little disappointed, but he could always try again tomorrow.

Another day, another scrap of his workbook torn out and tossed your way. You’re in a good mood too, putting the notebook down and joining everyone for lunch as they huddle around Tsuna’s desk. You mentioned something to Gokudera he can’t quite hear but it makes the storm guardian grumble before he nods his head.

He doesn’t mind when you turn him down again, holding up your reply  _Homework to do tonight_. Even though no homework had been given out today, or the day before.

When he gets home he can hear your excited voice coming from the kitchen. When he walks by you stop talking, Gokudera shushing you and slamming the door closed. He tries to brush it off, maybe he was helping you with your homework.

The next day isn’t any better.  _Night shift for Disciplinary Committee._  Another attempt dashed, for some reason it weighs on his chest as he realises how long it’s been since you’ve hung out together, and how many times you’ve turned him down.

The next day is a minefield. Word about Yamamotos birthday gets out and it’s a never-ending stream of gifts and cards and congratulations as he tries to go about his day. He catches your eye across the hallway as school starts but you turn away, busy talking to Gokudera,  _again_.

His desk is full of presents, it’s overwhelming. Carefully he searches through the pile of gifts, reading each name tag carefully. Nothing from you. Maybe you didn’t know it was today? Yamamoto watches as you enter the classroom, you give him one of those wonderful small smiles and settle into your desk. Not even a happy birthday.

Yamamoto sighs and tries to smile despite it all, he could at least share lunch with you and everyone else. He could look forward to that.

But once the bell ring, you're out the door like a shot. He barely gets a chance to say Hi before you’re out the door. It’s almost too much. He misses you. Your laugh, the small smile you give him when he talks about baseball, or walks you home. He misses trying to draw answers out of you with carefully worded questions- because he  _needs_ to know more about you-, he misses chatting to you like you’ve been friends for years.

Deciding it’s doing him no good to sit around and contemplate, Yamamoto looks for you, or rather he follows you as you sprint out the door.

Yamamoto loses you in a maze of students, all rushing and barging past in groups for their lunch. He’s too slow, and loses you round a corner, following just a little too late as you disappear. He tries a few more routes but between the rushing crowds and  _more_  people wishing him a happy birthday, he doesn’t get far before the bell rings to signal the end of lunch. Taking a deep breath, he pulls his usually heavy feet back to class.

When Yamamoto enters however, he notices a small wooden lunch box on his desk tied with a light blue ribbon.  Everyone’s already settled at their desk, so Yamamoto takes his seat and gently places the lunch box to the side. It’s very thoughtful but it doesn’t ease the strange heavy feeling in his chest.

As he pulls out his workbook a small crumpled note lands on his desk, or rather bounces off the corner and lands on his lap. Curiously he pulls it open.  _Happy Birthday Yamamoto-kun_.

Another piece of crumpled paper hits his hand.  _If it tastes bad blame Gokudera-kun, he taught me._

The smile spreads across his face as he looks up to see you give him a small wave from your desk. You hadn’t forgotten, despite all you other activities and demands, you’d remembered. He could hug you, he could just run over and grab you and tell you all the ways that meant  _everything_  to him. but he holds himself back, class has started.The rush of joy to his head is almost giddying as he peals back the lid of the bento box to examine the contents. Sushi, his favourite.


	32. Blanket Fort (Gokduera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between the sheets

Gokudera and sleep weren’t exactly friends. More like passing strangers on a train that met once in a while, but never long enough to establish any kind of consistent contact.

Normally, he would use this time to read or work through whatever ideas were buzzing round his head. That was normally, but for some ungodly reason the entire Vongola house was devoid of cushion, seats and even pillows. Clenching a hand tighter around his coffee mug Gokudera feels the need to shout, he has no proof whatsoever, but this whole situation just screamed _you._ That’s when he turns into the front room. It’s a shambles, duvets and bed sheets strung on the backs of mismatched chairs to make what looks like a very shabby blanket fort.

There were several covers, pillows and cushions thrown inside, all squished onto one side of the sofa with a laptop at the other end. Gokudera lets an annoyed “tch” out before he crawls in. He needs somewhere to read, and he doesn’t have time to be dismantling forts for one cushion. He settles in, squishing and chucking out a few pillows until he’s comfy, and gets back to his reading. He doesn’t want to admit it, but being surrounded by nothing but soft fabric and the cool crisp night air slipping in from the open air is just a little relaxing.

It’s an hour before Gokudera pulls himself away from the book, taking an absent-minded sip from his cup, before realising it’s gone cold. He sighs and is about to make another when he feels something move next to him. His heart stops.

“Mmm?” a gentle noise of disturbance sounds from somewhere next to him. Gokudera remains still, it’s unlikely it’s an enemy, but that doesn’t stop adrenaline from slipping into this blood stream, ready for whatever happens next.

A moment passes, then another and there’s no more movement or noise. Slowly, carefully, Gokudera pats the lump next to him. Nothing. Braver this time he moves his hand over the shape, it’s human. Probably the Baseball Idiot napping he tells himself, but when he pulls back the sheet, it’s your face that greets him.

You look so peaceful, half curled into a ball, face nestled into a pillow as your chest rises and falls in a slow, steady rhythm. He knew it, this whole blanket fort _had_ to be your idea. Who else would go all out for a stupid kids’ idea of a fun afternoon?

He scowls, but he doesn’t stop looking at you, his eyes casually memorising every detail. The way you slept with your hands against your face, the gentle calm in your smile, as if you could never be disturbed. Gokudera wanted to join you. To wrap his arms around you and have you hold him with the same delicate peacefulness.

Without catching himself, he reaches over to stroke your cheek. Your skin is soft and cool against his coffee warmed hands and to his surprise, you react. You head follows his hand as it leaves, just tilting up ever so slightly. It’s a small action, stupid really, he shouldn’t have done it. Because that small action makes his heart skip.

“Gokudera-kun?” you mumble, heavy lidded eyes sleepily taking in his presence.

“I wasn’t, I, . . .you took all the pillows.” he explains a little too quickly as he draws his hand back.

“Sorry,” you manage a little more clearly this time as you shift yourself over to sit up. “Lambo and I got a little carried away.”

And now Gokudera feels like an asshole. He’s woken you up, he had the perfect opportunity to just fucking leave and instead he’s woken you up at god knows what hour because he couldn’t keep his hands off you.

“What do you think?” you ask, rubbing your eyes then gesturing with a sleepy smile to the fort.

“It’s not very structurally sound.” He replies snarkily, changing the subject, deflecting from his quickly growing self-hatred.

“You think you could do better with a few chairs and sheet?” you yawn, playfully nudging his arm.

Gokudera _knows_ he could do better. He’s read books on supports and physics and architecture. Give him an hour or two and he could recreate the fucking Sistine Chapel. He could tell you that, but he doesn’t want to start a fight, not when you’re in such a fragile, sleepy state.

Gokudera picks up his book and moves to stand up; It’s late.

“Oh, do you have to go?” you ask, in a way that could almost be interpreted as sad, but Gokudera refuses to let himself hope.

Gokudera pauses. He doesn’t have to leave he just assumed. . . _what?_ He just assumed you didn’t want to see him, that his presence was immediately unwelcome?

“Actually, do you have like . . . half an hour?” you ask him, as you pull the laptop closer and begin typing. He watches as your fingers slide over the keyboard and he can’t lie, he’s a little curious as to what you’re going to show him. There’s a wonderful look of concentration on your face.

He’s still lost looking at you when you turn the laptop towards him, grounding his thoughts. “While I was hunting down some information I came across this in the area of my target.” you inform him eagerly.

The video on the screen is simply labelled “Aliennss??? Meteor shower landing.” but Gokudera is _hooked_. The video is blurry, and for a good few moments it’s just some overly cautious man zooming in and out on a burning pile of rock, making excited babbling comments about how they got there. But he can see it, a strange glowing blob hiding behind the edge of one of the metero rocks.

“There!” he shouts, pointing to the tiny sliver of movement.

“I knew you’d see it!” you say, smiling triumphantly. “Yamamaoto just laughed when I showed him.”

_Idiot wouldn’t know an alien if it bit him on the ass._ “Forget that Baseball Freak, where’d this happen?” he asks, leaning in to try and get more information on the video.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” You say, grinning widely as you pull up another few tabs.

Turns out there have been several other meteor showers in that area over the past 100 years. Gokudera has to grab a few on the paranormal books he keeps in his room to see if he can glean more information about the showers, and what _type_ of alien that could have been You’re pretty one track minded, scrolling through comments and clicking on linked video of other people’s sighting but he’s not like that. Gokudera’s got seventeen tabs open, three books and is already finding the most reliable academic sources for sightings and paranormal occurrences in the area. He can feel his brain buzzing as he spots links between dates and locations.

Gokudera shows you his theory and you nod, showing him a video that matches some of the timings he’d pinned down. It’s a tight squeeze in the fort for the two of you so you shuffle a few cushions and move closer.  He watches as you lie on your stomach, stretching out with your laptop so it’s positioned in front of the both of you. There’s an incredibly cosy atmosphere in the fort, something intimate and precious about the way you’re getting as invested in this as he is.

Gokuderas eyes trace over the length of your back. He could just lie on top of you, nestle his head on your shoulder and say it’s because he wants to see whatever you’re doing on the screen. But he dismisses that thought. _What was he Yamamoto? Some overly dopey puppy following you around and jumping on you every chance he got?!_ He composes himself and resists the urge to be near you.

It’s not like you’d want him to be near to you anyway, right? Just because you weren’t arguing with him didn’t suddenly mean you like him.

There’s joy on your face as you squirm round to face him and point at the laptop. He leans in, carefully putting a hand down next to your waist to steady himself as he brings his face closer to the screen.

Gokudera can just begin to make something out, but then the screen goes blank.

“Fuck.” You mutter. “battery’s dead.”

Gokudera rolls his eyes; just like you to get so caught up in an idea that you forget about anything else. He’s about to say something when he realises he’s practically on top of you, your body below his as he’s leaned over to get a better look at the laptop.

It’s embarrassing as hell and Gokudera quickly shrinks back to his seated spot. Not making eye contact, and definitely _not_ thinking about how it makes him feel to be in such a position with you, looking up at him, his arm so close to you. _Fuck!_

You leave for a moment to grab a charger and he makes a point of piling pillows between the two of you. Nice big pillows, preventing any more unnecessary physical interaction.

You return, looking slightly confused by the sudden great wall of pillows dividing your space from his, but you don’t say anything. Once the laptops back up and running you return to your research, now maybe being a little more careful not to get so close. Gokudera can see you’re a little hurt, but he just . . . he can’t have you that close without feeling _things_. Overwhelming, dizzying things that he’d rather not feel in such an intimate environment.

He’s about to say something, turning his head to catch your attention, but you’re already looking at him. For a moment, Gokudera thinks maybe there’s something on him, in his hair, and he gives himself a quick check. Nothing.

“What?” he asks half irked, half worried he’s missed something obvious.

You laugh, a soft whole-hearted breath past your lips. “Nothing, you just look really cute with your glasses on.”

_Oh fuck_. _Nope, nope, nope._ Gokudera shouts at you, something leaving his lips about how he _does not look cute_ and _why the fuck would you say something like that._ The annoyingly hot tinge in his cheeks only growing as you laugh at him again. You move closer, asking if he’s found anything in his research.

The sudden contact of your body against his makes him jump out of his skin. It’s too much, the closeness, the soft plush of the pillows beneath the two of you, the way you’re looking up at him expectantly for an answer, as though you hadn’t just been caught _staring_ at him.

“I have to go.” Gokudera shouts hastily as he stands up, forgetting he’s in a blanket fort, a very structurally unsound blanket fort. His head pulls the covers off the back of the chair and he’s too worried on getting _out_ of there to think about untangling the trail of blankets and pillows he’s leaving behind as he rushes to the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How cute are blanket forts? I figured it's probably one of those things kids brought up in high society like Gokudera never got to experience so of course he sits inside when he finds it, lil nerd


	33. Happy Birthday Senpai (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's what any good kouhai would do

“You got this!” Hibari can hear Kusakabe’s voice from behind the disciplinary door. To his surprise, it’s you who enters when the door opens.

You give a quick bow before moving to the centre of the room. Not taking your usual spot on the sofa, instead twiddling your thumbs as you stand awkwardly in front of his desk. He momentarily wonders if you’re waiting for his attention. He grants you permission to talk by making eye contact, marvelling at the hesitation on your face. It’s a new look for you, almost cute as you avert your eyes once his meet yours. Like a small nervous animal unsure of an outstretched hand.

After a brief pause you finally open your mouth.

“Umm”.

He tilts his head slightly to encourage you. “Are you . . . are you doing anything . . .later?” you still aren’t meeting his gaze as you pull at a bit of loose skin near your fingernail. He won’t let it show on his face but he is enjoying this whole situation. Watching you grow more and more nervous as he lets the silence hang between the two of you. The way you’re biting your lip a delicious sight.  He could have some fun with this.

“Yes.” he says. You blink a few times as if you weren’t expecting him to respond so quickly.

“Ah, that’s a shame.” You laugh awkwardly and turn to leave.

“Why did you ask?” he queries, before you get a chance to open the door, surprised you’d give up so easily.

“I, uh . . . that’s kind of a secret.” you say, turning to face him, still avoiding eye contact. He contemplates this for a moment, his own plans mostly consisting of a nap that evening since nothing of interest was due to happen. However, it seems like you have something you’re keen to share with him.

He wants to ask what kind of secret but refuses to potentially be labelled as _talkative,_ opting instead to stare until you explain yourself. “Are you . . . are you sure you don’t have an hour or so to spare, Kyouya-senpai?”

 _Ohh that’s good_. He did adore when you called him senpai, a reminder of his superiority over you, despite the track record of battles being a draw at the moment. He rolls the thought over in his head, letting you sweat it out for a few more minutes. On one hand, it’s unlikely you’re asking him for a fight; normally you’d both just go at it until you were interrupted or breathless. He enjoys those times thoroughly and rarely wants to do much else. On the other hand, he’s curious to see what exactly you are so nervous to ask him about. The thought crosses Hibari’s mind that it could be something involving those herbivores you’re so fond of and it’s an instant no.

As if unable to wait any longer, you finally make eye contact. “I  . . . I think you’ll really enjoy it.” You prompt, a momentarily hopeful look sent towards him with a glint of excitement. It’s hard to say no to that face. Really hard. But he’s having fun toying with you; the silence only seeming to make you more uncomfortable, fiddling with the edge of your shirt sleeve.

He can see the door behind you slide open a crack, and the dark roll of hair peeking through gives away Kusukabe’s presence immediately. You turn and shake your head at him. He waves his hand, as if gesturing for you to try again. Hibari can’t help but wonder what the two of you have been up to.

You shake your head again, but Kusakabe is nodding and mouthing something to you Hibari can’t quite make out, before shutting the door quietly. You take a deep breath as if to calm yourself and turn to him again, Your face a little more serious this time.

Much to his amusement, you walk round to his side, perching yourself at a free space on the desk. “Kyouya-senpai?” there’s a slight hesitation in your voice as your hand reaches out, cautiously landing on his arm. You’re watching him. Waiting for any indication you’ve crossed a line, that he’s uncomfortable with what you’re doing. Another deep breath and your thumb is gently rubbing his arm. “Would you please . . . come out with me tonight?”

It hits him then and there: you’re asking him out. That’s why you’re so nervous. He can feel a wicked smile on his face. Finally, you’d realised how impressive your senpai was.

He nods, a strange, powerful feeling riding through his body as he does so.

You let go of his arm instantly and breathe out a sigh of relief. “Great, can I meet you here at 8?” You hand him a piece of torn paper with co-ordinates and he’s even more intrigued by the set up. However, something else catches his attention. The smile on your face. It’s small and almost missable if he didn’t know you so well. He can’t help but feel a smirk pull at his lips as he watches you leave the room.

 

The co-ordinates lead him to a strange area just outside of Namimori; a run down carnival just off the outskirts.  Or at least by all accounts it should be run down, a more popular site opened inside Namimori years ago, leaving this one to fade into sheer memory. Despite this, he can clearly see a circle of slow spinning lights at the very end of the park. Taking it as a hint he heads over.

When he arrives, he can see both you and Kusakabe waiting for him, chatting away quietly in the glowing dim of the lights that Hibari now recognises as a ferris wheel. You send a smile his way and nod to Kusakabe who opens one of the carriages for him. As he walks forward he notices a flask and a small card with his name on it.

If it was someone other than Kusakabe and yourself, he wouldn’t have obliged. But it isn’t, so he lets himself relax a little entering the carriage. He wonders briefly if you’ll join him but Kusakabe closing the little white door denies him the chance to indulge that thought.

After a few seconds the carriage begins to move, stuttering at the sudden infusion of movement so much that Hibari has to grab the side to stop himself falling off the seat. He can hear a small “sorry” as you fiddle with the buttons. The ride is smooth after that but he can’t help but think this is a strange idea of for a date, riding the ferris wheel alone. As strange an idea as it is, he _does_ like the quiet that comes from being so high up. It reminds him of being on the school roof.

He becomes vaguely aware that the carriage is slowing down as he reaches the top of the circle. He looks down as it eases to a full stop. You’re below, throwing him a small smile, letting him know he’s not stuck. You turn and resume chatting to Kusakabe.

Now that he knows he’s supposed to be up here, he casts his attention to the items in front of him. He reaches for the flask first, confirming his theory when the smell of fresh brewed green tea greets him as he unscrews the cap. It’s still a little hot to drink so he sets it aside, turning his focus to the card. Opening it carefully he can tell it’s your handwriting, a little messy but coherent none the less.

Inside is a simple card with the words ‘happy birthday’ written on the front. Inside, two signatures. One from you and one from Kusakabe. Hibari can’t help a small smile from gracing his lips. He had forgotten that was today.

It dawns on him gradually, the peace, the view, the tea, the stillness, all of it a gift for him.  Hibari finds a new feeling warming his body. He doesn’t have a name for it, but he likes it, unused to being treated in such a way by others. Somehow, it’s tolerable to have this kind of affection thrown his way if it’s from you. Such a good Kouhai.

Despite his usual preferences, Hibari doesn’t feel right. He kicks the carriage violently and you get the message, clicking a few buttons and beginning his descent.

As soon as the carriage nears he can hear you sighing. “Sorry, Kyouya-senpai, I thought you would like--“ He doesn’t give you time to finish, opening the small door and pulling you in. He nods to the control panel and Kusakabe understands.

You don’t say anything as you ride up, watching him for a few minutes to work out his intentions. Once you relax a little you turn in your seat to admire the view, arms resting on the edge of the carriage. As the wheel grinds to a halt at the top you turn to him. He feels he should say something, but you get there first. “Do you want to see a better view?”

You offer your hand, but he doesn’t take it. You let out a small, knowing chuckle, and suddenly you’re leaning out the open window of the carriage. Hibari nearly has a heart attack as you swing yourself out, relieved when you catch the upper level of the carriage and pull yourself up onto the roof.

It’s a little squished as he joins you, legs dangling off the edge. Hibari finds himself looking at you, wondering if you’re going to say anything more. Explain how you found this place, why the ferris wheel works while the rest of the place is decrepit, why you couldn’t just tell him what you had planned in the first place. But you don’t say anything. You don’t even look at him as you gaze across at the sparkling lights of Namimori.

He notices how beautifully those lights are reflected in your eyes. Hibari finds himself staring at you for no reason other than he can, drinking in your features. He can’t think of a time you’d been so close to him and not been fighting. Then he remembers the festival, the maid outfit, the way he felt when you feel asleep on him. He muses the idea of spending more time with you like this.

He lets his mind wander as his eyes follow yours, marvelling at the view and silence you share with him. He has no idea how long you spend there. Just _being_ together without any need for words or chatter.

Hibari could see you wavering, eyes half lidded, head resting on your hand, nearly closing as you gazed ahead. When you finally gave in, your head leaning on his shoulder, small gentle breaths rhythmically passing from your lips, he couldn’t complain.

Carefully moving his upper body, he cradles your head, bringing it to rest in a comfortable spot on his lap. Your hair is soft against his battle worn hands. You don’t stir, instead you bring your own hands up under face in an act of comfort. He finds himself enjoy the proximity of your body to his. The slow rising and falling of your chest set a pace for his own, casually running one of his hands through your hair, lightly stroking your head.

You stir slightly rolling over on his lap. He moved his hand not wanting to disturb you. Your change in position bring your arms around his waist, hugging yourself close to the cloud guardian’s strong torso. He can feel sparks fly across his body as you nestle your head close to him.

The thought of kissing you starts as an idea and flourishes into a full fledged desire. He stops himself, demanding restraint and wanting to savour the warm feeling that came from your dozing embrace. Later he told himself, later.

 

Long after the moon has risen high in the sky, you awaken. It takes you a moment to realise where you are as you look up to meet his eyes.

“Sorry! Senpai, I . . .”

You pull yourself up, mumbling something about it being a school night and how you should really be getting back. Hibari doesn’t respond, not wanting to give away his feelings just yet. He descends back down into the carriage, making sure you’re safe as you follow behind him. He stretches his arms out to catch you as you swing back in. The contact of your body against his is a welcome feeling. He pauses for a minute, allowing himself time to fully appreciate the cool of your skin against his. You’d done an impressive job organising this for your senpai. He could say something, but he doesn’t want to ruin the comfortable silence between the two of you.

Instead he takes a cue from his older self and wraps an arm around your back, using his free hand to tilt your chin up to face him. Even in the dim glowing light of the ferris wheel you look beautiful, eyes meeting his as they grow wide. It’s a smooth move, layering his lips over yours, pulling you in closer, unspoken appreciation for your actions.

A small whimper of surprise is caught in your mouth which Hibari finds incredibly amusing. It’s a quick kiss, nothing overly dramatic, but that doesn’t stop the pink spreading over your cheeks as he releases you from is grip.

A swift kick to let Kusakabe know he wants to come down and he settles in a seat. Hibari watches with a strong sense of satisfaction as you take a seat across from him, avoiding all eye contact and hiding blushed cheeks behind your hands. He makes no effort to hide the smirk on his own face as you both exit the fairground. Not even when he drops you off - leaning in for a moment, teasing as though he’s going to kiss you again. It’s beautiful to watch you fluster as your eyes meet his. It’s an image he keeps in his head all the way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder why you gave Hibari co-ordinates instead of just asking him to meet you at Kokuyo land? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯


	34. A Mutual Understanding (Hibari,Gokudera,Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Got milk?

Yamamotos in a little earlier than usual after morning practice, the classroom peacefully quiet as he slips off his bag and rest himself against his desk, watching the world go by outside the third floor window. Casually his eyes slide to your desk and he notices something new. A small box of flavoured milk is on your desk, no note.

Yamamoto knows what this means, he looks at the small collection of chocolate on his own desk. Someone has a crush on you. He laughs to himself. That’s fine, you were amazing and fun to be around. It made sense someone else would notice that. He moves to get his school stuff out his bag, but turns back to look at the milk. Who could it be from? Yamamoto rests his hand behind his head as he ticks off a list of people.

It couldn’t be anyone from your group, everyone was still walking to school at this time. He doubts its Hibari, a guy that angry all the time definitely didn’t drink enough milk. Nobody on the baseball team had expressed interest. Or rather nobody on the baseball team had gotten to know you long enough to make a connection, Yamamoto had been sure of that.

He shrugs, trying to get it off his mind as people come into the classroom. Taking a seat, he waits for you eagerly, bouncing his knee under the table. Maybe you knew who it was from. More importantly Yamamoto was curious to see your reaction, since Valentines day you hadn’t really had a confession, what with Hibari death glaring anyone who got near you. Maybe there’s just a little secret part of Yamamoto that hopes you turn the milk down, because if you started seeing someone that meant you’ll have less time for him, and that’s no fun.

As you enter in your immaculate uniform, you give him your usual wonderful small smile and sit down. It takes you a while to notice the milk box, busy sorting through several books in your bag, no doubt your latest haul from the library.

You almost knock the box off as you shove your books out, catching it just in time. You look at it, slowly taking in the lettering, then you look at Yamamoto.

“Is this yours?” you ask, passing the milk over. Yamamoto pauses. You didn’t understand gift giving. You think it’s his milk. He acts quickly.

“Yeah! Sorry I must have left it on your desk.” He laughs, enjoying the soft feel of your hand under his as he takes it, popping the straw and sipping happily.

 

Gokudera isn’t usually in so early, but he needed a break from you in the mornings. He’d found himself thinking how _adorable_ you were as you’d sleepily walk to school together. Brain not quite engaged and half mumbling replies, it was horribly endearing and Gokudera couldn’t take it anymore. So, he’d come in early, by himself. That way, he could _maybe_ get you out of his head if at least just for the morning.

Something catches his eye as he enters the classroom. A small box of flavoured milk on your desk. It doesn’t bother him until it clicks in his mind. Japanese culture having a weird thing about gift giving and confessions instead of just fucking hanging out with each other like normal people did. Gokudera huffs and stares at the box.

He didn’t need this. The last time you’d received a gift it had been a whole pile on your desk and you’d teased him. He’d also had to inform you exactly what a confession was and help you hide from the _onslaught_ of keen admirers, you’d spent weeks feeling guilty for turning them all down. Gokudera momentarily wonders what happened to all those love sick fools and reasons maybe -unlike him- they’d found a way to get over you.

It would probably be easier for everyone if the milk just . . . disappeared. Quickly, Gokudera picks it up and puts it in the trash, dusting his hands and walking away. But then a twinge of guilt tugs at his stomach. That wasn’t fair, was it? Someone was trying to say they liked you and he just threw it in the bin? He reasons it’s for the better, that if someone liked you they should at least have the guts to say it to your face. But then, he’d liked you for months and could still barely accept you were his friend.

Gokudera lets out an audible groan of frustration and looks back into the bin. There’s already an old sandwich touching the carton and some pencil shavings on the straw. Crap, he can’t let you drink trash milk. He checks his pocket change and he’s got enough for a cheap thing of milk from the vending machine.

Cursing himself, he darts out and prays he can make it before your sleepy ass rolls through the door. He almost does too; shoving change in, shouting something awful in Italian as the spiral jams, leaving the bastard box of milk hanging just off the shelf. Angrily he jerks the machine. _Fuck_. _Stupid fucking machine, stupid fucking milk, stupid fucking guy who leaves milk for a clueless woman like you and expects it to work_. He throws his shoulder against the machine but the damn box just wiggles.

“Gokudera!” a familiar voice scolds.

It’s you, taking a deep breath and gathering what little patience you had in the morning. “Can you please not try and break school property.”

“It’s not my fault the stupid machine is broken.” He grumbles, folding his arms. You peer behind him, examining the situation. Gokudera watches as you scan over the items.

“Here.” You slide your hand into your pocket and slot some change into the machine, choosing an item on shelf higher than his. It works perfectly, two items tumbling down with a loud _clunk!_

“There.” You say, mustering up one of those little smiles just for him and handing over the milk. You turn to leave.

“Wait!” Gokudera calls out, the milk isn’t for him. “I-it’s for you” _fuck that sounded lame._ You turn back, giving him a curious look. Gokudera holds out the milk without making eye contact.

“It’s for you, but it’s not from me!” he shouts, shoving the milk in your face. There’s a confused look in your eye as you look between him and the milk.

“It’s for me . . . but it’s not from you? But you used your money to buy it, and then gave it to me?” you ask tentatively. Gokudera nods. _Jesus what’s complicated about that?!_

“But it’s not from you?”

“Yes, okay, fuck is that so hard to understand?” he bites back, storming off.

 

Hibari walks you back to class, the monthly meeting ran over as documentation gave way to improvised sparring session, it was the least he could do as you collected your bag. You pause, noticing something on your desk. It’s something that makes you frown curiously as you bend down to get a slower look.

Hibari walks over to get a better look. There, on your desk, is a box of flavoured milk. He watches as you stare at it. You can’t see but there’s a note attached to the back. _For the angel of Namimori_ punctuated with a little heart at the end.

Hibari picks up the box, opens a nearby window and flings it into the night without a word. You don’t like flavoured milk anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tiny bit of a character study, the idea for Gokudera came first, then Hibari throwing it out the window just seemed like too fun and idea to pass up, obviously Yamamoto had to get in on the action too (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	35. Love Thy Senpai (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As a friend

You’d come to Yamamoto, a question on your lips as you entered the gym and spotted his flushed face. He knows he looks good, he always looks good in workout gear. Not that he was cocky, but the slight smile on your face assures him he at least appeared presentable.

He goes in for a hug and you do to, until you realise how sweaty he is from his workout.

“Working hard?” you ask him, opting for a playful punch on his shoulder.

Yamamoto nods, savouring the cool feeling of your skin against his overheated body. He’s about to say something, when he catches you staring. For a moment he thinks you’re staring at him and his heart skips, but the longer he looks the quicker he realises it’s something behind him.

He turns, Ryohei is behind him, aggressively sparring with another upperclassman on the raised stage of the gyms boxing ring. Yamamoto turns back; there’s a sparkle in your eyes as you watch.

“Wow.”

It comes out of your mouth in one soft breath, like a small kid watching a superhero fly through the air. You’re walking toward the ring, eyes still transfixed on the fight as Ryohei connects a clean hit to his opponent. He bounces on the spot, shaking off the sweat and watching as his opponent struggles to get up.

“That’s an EXTREME round!” he shouts, punching the air.

“Can anyone try?” you ask Yamamoto, already grabbing a spare set of gloves.

He barely has time to reply as you climb into the ring. Ryohei appears to be on his side.

“Hey, I can’t fight a girl, that’s not extreme.” He says, dropping his hands from their practiced hold.

You laugh and promise to go easy on him. His senpai takes this well, but insist you wear a head guard, to which you begrudgingly agree.

Yamamoto watches with painfully baited breath as the two of you begin. He knows you like fighting, that was why you and Hibari got along so well. But this wasn’t the same, you didn’t have you weapon and you knew nothing about boxing.

You hold well, managing a few hits. However, Yamamoto notes Ryohei is holding back, missing obvious openings in favour of targeting easily blocked spots. He breathes a sigh of relief at that.Gradually, it gets more intense. What you lack in physical strength you make up for in observation. You learn Ryoheis resistant pattern and start taking advantage of it, and Ryohei responds.

“EXTREME! You’re a fast learner.” He shouts, picking up his speed and incorporating footwork, working his way to corner you in the ring.

The worry in Yamamotos chest is back and it’s rib tightening. The both of you putting more vigour into your movements. You get out of the corner but Ryhoei’s fierce onslaught of attacks twists you back round. Through it all the both of you are smiling, trash talking like you’ve been doing this for years. Even when you’re losing you’ve got this smile on your face like you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. If it wasn’t for the probable chance of injury Yamamoto might find it cute.

It happens before anyone can stop it. You doge the wrong way, and take the full effect of Ryoheis punch to you jaw. The blow is enough to knock you off your feet and send you flying into the lines of the ring. There’s a moment of dead silence as Ryohei realises what’s happened and Yamamoto hurries into the ring.

A large audible gasp of air fills your lungs and you roll over.

“That was awesome!” You jump to your feet. “Let’s go again Ryohei-senpai!”

Yamamoto has to blink a few times to realise what you’re saying. He’s already holding you back, he knows how sore those punches are the next day. But for some reason, that doesn’t stop you. The next day you’re back, and the day after that, and the day after that. The same transfixed look of adoration on your face. The same look Yamamoto gets when he plays baseball, the same look he hoped you’d give him.

Yamamoto watches out the corner of his eye as he runs laps. Ryohei standing over you, moving your limbs, showing you counter moves, touching his skin to yours. It made him feel weird, not happy.

Yamamoto liked when he’d shown you how to move in the batting cages. He remembers the feeling of you against him and the smile you’d given him. He liked seeing the look on your face when you learnt new things, so why did this feel different? In an effort to quell the feelings he joins in the training session. He’s happier to be involved anyway, he can show you a thing or two he’s picked up from Ryohei. Volunteering to be your sparring partner, it’s nice to have your attention back on him. . .as a friend of course. It was normal for friends to want attention from each other. He’s about to say something when a voice from outside the ring interrupts.

“Oni-chan, you’re not beating up girls are you?” Kyoko asks.

“Kyoko-chan, it’s not what you think.” Ryohei replies, rushing to the edge of the ring and assuring her he didn’t mean it. Yamamoto can’t help but admire his senpais love for his sister. It was incredibly endearing.

“Sorry, Kyoko-chan. I got caught up with Ryohei-senpai. Are you still good for helping me with my homework today?” you ask, stripping off the boxing gloves and slipping out the ring, out of Yamamotos presence.

“Yeah! We can go to my house, you can help me make dinner.” She replies, linking your arm in hers. Both of you wave before you leave and all too soon you’re gone.

Ryohei insists on a “cool down” sprint home as they finish the training session and Yamamoto can’t pass that up. The feeling of the wind against his body, the pumping of his legs as he keeps up with his senpai, it keeps his mind off other things.

He’s drenched by the time they reach Ryoheis house. His senpai is kind enough to offer him a towel and a shower before they eat. Yamamoto secretly hopes it’s the food you and Kyoko were chatting about earlier, he’d love to eat something you cooked. As he enters the bathroom, he’s surprisingly pleased to see his Senpai has been kind enough to start the water running for him. Putting his towel down and shrugging off his clothes, he pulls back the curtain.

Yamamaoto’s heart stops. You’re there, under the water, completely naked. Your eyes are wide _,_ hands frozen, mid wash.

Yamamoto can feel his mind shut down as he takes in the sight of you in front of him.  Rivulets of water pouring across your body, making your skin glisten. He can feel his jaw drop as if in slow motion. He can’t _breathe_ , He can’t think.

Neither of you move, but your cheeks are a burning red as your eyes trace over his equally as naked body.

“Yamamoto don’t go in just—” Ryohei bursts in, a minute too late. Instinctively you hide behind the curtain and Yamamoto finds the ability to move as he covers himself with his towel.

“Ah!” Ryohei yells, as he realises he’s a little too late and immediately turns his back. He apologises repeatedly, Kyoko had only just told him you were in the shower, he hadn’t meant to send in Yamamoto and how this was all extremely embarrassing.

“C-can one of you pass me a towel?” you ask timidly from behind the curtain. Yamamoto grabs the towel and the extra pile of clothes on the floor. He keeps his eyes fixed to your face, determined not to look anywhere indecent. Despite his efforts there's still an incredibly awkward atmosphere in the room. The hum of the shower the only noise negating an uncomfrotable silence. Yamamoto has no idea how to ease the situation, so he laughs. A big heartfelt laugh.

"Thanks for keeping the shower warm for me." He jokes, as you take the pile of clothes from him. Like a miracle, it works, a small laugh on you lips as you wrap the towel around you and step out from behind the shower curtain. Yamamoto watches as you tuck your hair behind your ear and give him a small little smile before shuffling past a still apologising Ryohei.

The image of you doesn’t leave his brain as he enters the still running shower, but he’s incredibly glad there’s only cold water left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hows that whole friendship thing working out for ya there boy? ;D (Also i'm so incredibly sorry for uploading the wrong chapter yesterday! It's been taken down and hopefully not too many spoilers for the next few scenes.) A massive thank you to the people who have bookmarked and given kudos over the past week, it really motivates me to keep posting <3


	36. Hot Springs Trip (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's skinny dipping between a few friends?

Yamamoto’s almost asleep when you text him; the long journey to the hot springs and training in the heat had really taken it out of him. But that doesn’t matter; The hot springs hotel was split into male/female and he hadn’t seen you since the class divided, so he’s beyond delighted when your name lights up his screen.

_We’re having a “sleepover”. What’s truth or dare? And also, what’s a sleepover? It’s 11pm and everyone seems very much awake._

It’s not unusual for you to text him like this, Yamamoto proudly being you’re go-to friend for Japanese youth culture. Or at least that’s how you’d put it. He had a sneaky suspicion you just wanted to try all the normal stuff you missed while growing up in the mafia. There were moments he’d catch you listening to the girls in your class talk about group dates and arcade visits and movie nights, with a longing in your eyes. Yamamoto was beyond happy to answer your questions and help you join in. Your smile was always worth it.

The thought crosses his mind it would be a lot easier to help you if he was actually there, that way he could protect you from any awkward dares. He crafts his reply carefully before sending it back.

_Sleepover for girls are a little bit of a mystery, normally with Ryohei-senpai we talk about sports and get up early for a run. Truth or dare is fun :D Are you guys looking for more players?_

The typing icon plays for a few moments, pausing, then typing again.

_Haru says it’s girls only, and that I should put the phone away._

Another typing icon appears.

_Kyoko says hi._

He smiles, sliding his thumb across the edge of his phone fondly. He wonders what kind of games you’re getting up to tonight. Gokudera mumbles something grumpily about the light of his phone from his bed at the other end of the room. He throws a pillow at Yamamotos face, the rain guardian laughs it off and moves his conversation under the sheets so as not to piss off Gokudera _too_ much. There had been a lot of questioning looks when he buddied up with Gokudera, but it was a tactical choice. The bomber least likely to keep him up late with questions about his training regime or baseball tactics or the general overenthusiastic attitudes that sometimes came from other team members when sharing a room.

Another text appears on his screen.

_Okay, so I’ve been put in the shame corner?_

Yamamoto tilts his head curiously; he’s never heard of the shame corner.

_Apparently when asked “Who’s the best boy” in our class “Tsuna” was not the correct answer. They put a box over my head and said I have to sit in the corner until I give a real answer._

Yamamoto smothers a laugh to himself. Of course, you thought Tsuna was best boy, he was your boss. Quickly he types back. _Best boy means most attractive or someone you’re interested in :D_

The typing icon displays itself again, then disappears.

_I said you and they let me back into the game._

Yamamoto smiles, running his thumb over his lip as he reads the reply over and over again. Then another text appears.

_Hope you don’t mind, you get the most confessions out of the boys in our class and three girls also had you down for their choice. Statistically you’re the best boy and therefor the most believable choice._

Yamamoto’s still flattered, he’ll take _statistically best boy_ as an affectionate term any day. He rolls over in his bed, one arm cuddling the thrown pillow as he watches the typing icon play out for a few moments. There is something really fun about talking to you, enough to keep him up for just a few more minutes despite the yawn he stifles. Another text comes through.

_What’s skinny dipping?_

That catches him off guard. Hopefully you’re asking because someone else got dared and you didn’t-

_Is it ALL my clothes?_

Yamamoto can feel his eyes go wide as he reads the text again. Quickly he types out a reply.

_You don’t have to do all dares! If you’re uncomfortable you can forfeit at any time!_

There’s no reply for a long time, no texting icon. Yamamoto begins to panic; he knows you’re trying to fit in, to learn to get along with people outside the mafia beyond your image as the Angel of Disciplinary Committee, but this is risky territory. Then he remembers he’s at a hot spring, split by gender. He lets out a relieved sigh, playing out the worst-case scenario in which a few late night female bathers see you naked. There was little harm there. He tries not to think about it as he flops onto his back, holding the phone close to his face as he waits for your reply.

His eyes are practically closing when the hard buzz of the phone goes again.  Luckily, Gokudera’s too busy sleep talking to hear it.

_Did you know there’s a lake nearby?_

Yamamoto does _not_ like where this is going, public nudity being one of those less innocent dares. He does remember a lake, somewhere, and he racks his brain as he puts on a spare shirt and gets up for a drink of water. The hotel corridor is long and by the time he’s found the communal water fountain it’s been a good few minutes since you’ve replied.

He decides to take the long way back, strolling through the grounds enjoying the breeze of the night air in just a shirt and shorts. It’s a peaceful night, one where everything seems to still in the cloudy moonlight. As he continues a conversation up ahead catches his attention. He hears giggling and his face lights up, expecting to see you. Expecting to get a chance to intervene before the dare goes too far.

Instead, it’s a few girls from your class, carrying pyjamas. Pyjamas Yamamoto recognises from the mornings he’s woken up after sleep walking into your room. Curious, Yamamoto calls out to them.

“These pyjamas? Oh, they’re, uh, a friends.” One of the girls explains unconvincingly. Yamamoto feels caught; he _knows_ those are yours, but in order to make that claim he’d have to explain exactly _how_ he knows that. He rubs the back of his neck as he works out a way to get your clothes back.

“Oh, Yamamoto-kun, have you seen the lake around here?” one girl giggles, before nudging her friend.

“Yes! Yamamoto-kun, I think it’s _super_ important you check out the lake, like, right now.” Another laughs, waving her hand behind them as she walks off hiding her laughter from him.

Yamamoto knows what’s going on but can’t help wondering why the girls would encourage him to find you in that kind of scenario. He thinks about it hard as he walks in the direction of the lake. It’s not like you’d want him to see you naked, and after the incident at Ryohei’s house Yamamoto was just incredibly happy it hadn’t affected your relationship with him, even if the image still unexplainably slips through his thoughts late at night.

The lake isn’t far and as he gets closer Yamamoto can see you in the water. He can hear you counting.

“ 98 . . . 99. . . 100!” you shout, turning around in the water to face the dock.

Your face is the picture of shock as you realise it’s not the girls, but him standing there. You dip under the water almost instinctively and cover your chest.

Yamamoto doesn’t know what to say but a chuckled, “Hi”, is the first thing that escapes his lips as he casually waves. You stare at him, trained eyes assessing him in the stunned silence.

“You’re here?” you ask, sounding confused as you swim up to the dock, pulling yourself just high enough to let your eyes scan the wooden slats. There’s a soft _oh god_ on your lips as you slowly lower yourself back down, realising your pyjamas are missing, mind taking a moment to process your situation.

“I am without clothing.” You say, in a tone so flat Yamamoto’s not sure if it’s a question or a statement. Either way, he nods carefully, not quite sure if you can see him from your position under the dock.

“My classmates have stolen my pyjamas while I was in the water?” Your voice falters slightly at the end of your sentence and for a moment Yamamoto’s seriously concerned it’s because you feel betrayed. Without a second thought, Yamamoto’s on his knees; leaning down to see you, to hold your hand, to stroke your cheek, anything to stop you feeling upset.

As he reaches down, he notices your face changing, smile cracking on your face as laughter fills your lungs. “I’ve been hazed!” you cry, smacking the water with your hand and smiling at him. Yamamoto finds himself grinning too, that infectious smile of yours catching him again.

Casually he offers a hand to help you up, before remembering you’re still naked.

“Here.” Yamamoto gestures, stripping the shirt off his back and leaving it on the edge as he turns to grant you some privacy. The rain guardian can hear the break in the water and the soft pad of your hands on the wet wood as you pull yourself up, the soft rustle of his shirt just audible in the quiet of the lakeside.

Yamamoto doesn’t know why he’s smiling as he turns around to see you dressed in his shirt but it’s a big undeniable smile as he thinks how good it looks on you. You may be soaking but that doesn’t stop him dragging you into an ill-advised wet hug. “You’re freezing!” he chuckles, rubbing his hands over your shoulders and back in an attempt to bring some heat to your skin.

“And you’re going to get wet if you keep me close like this.” You tease, as you step out of his hug. Yamamoto feels a little pride at the way your eye trace momentarily over his chest, something he dares label as interest as he catches you biting the corner of your lip. It’s a quick flash and then you blink back to your normal soft faced expression.

Yamamoto grins as he asks how your game of truth or dare went, leaning down a little so his face meets yours and he can look you in the eyes. For once you give him an answer beyond two sentences. Turns out, you’re really excited about being hazed. You inform him how you’ve read about it before and it’s a form of induction to social groups, meaning that people in your class are warming up to you. He can’t help but laugh, as though it isn’t incredibly obvious how many people in school completely _adore_ you. That answers earns him a soft punch on his arm. You explain to him that it’s different; people putting you on pedestal and liking you isn’t the same as people treating you as equal and liking you.

Yamamoto looks at you intently, eyes searching yours. Because he’s felt the same way, but he’s never really been able to put it into words. As the baseball star of Namimori a lot of people _like_ him, but he was never sure how many people like him because of who he was, rather than who they idolise him to be. It is, at times, incredibly lonely. He understands deeply, heart tugging towards yours when you continue talking about how Tsuna and the others had showed you what the difference was.

It’s easy to note how closed off your mannerisms becomes as you talk, crossed arms, hand on your face as you talk, almost turning away from him as you mention how being adored is fine, but you didn’t want that form the Vongola or those you are friends with, you want to be an equal. He wants to grab you, to pull you close and tell you he knows exactly what you mean, to agree with every word you’re saying. But then you stop, biting your lip as you realise just how much personal information you’ve inadvertently told him. Before you can back track, Yamamoto takes your hand in his, drawing it away from you face as he smiles, opening you up to him.

“I know what you mean.” He whispers.

There’s a long pause as your eyes track the movement of his hand in yours, following up his arm to meet his face, holding his gaze.

“You wouldn’t happen to have any spare shoes for walking back, would you?” you ask him. Yamamoto knows you’re changing the topic deliberately, but he’ll let you. Currently, he doesn’t have any spare shoes, but he has a better idea. Kneeling down, he throws both hands up and gestures to his shoulders.  You tilt your head giving him a curious look.

“Piggy back!” he laughs. Yamamoto watches as you cautiously circle round and line up behind him, checking his face to be sure you’ve understood correctly. He nods, assuring you it’s okay.

To his relief, you smile, one of those soft smiles that grows bigger every time it graces your face. So different from those small awkward ones you used to give him. These new smiles make his heart swell, especially when he’s the reason.

Yamamoto feels you hook your arms around his neck, legs locking around his torso. It’s nice, if a little wet, but your head rests perfectly on his shoulder, breath slow against his neck. It makes his skin tingle to feel it was he walks. The rain guardian has no intention of racing back, opting instead for a peaceful walk home with the weight of you against his back, clinging to him just so. It’s satisfying to feel like he can help you, since you are so good at so many things. He finds himself musing over all the things he likes about you, about being your friend. But then a worrying thought strikes him.

“Angel-chan?” he queries, thumbs rubbing over the outside of your knees as he holds them around his waist. You voice is a warm hum against his skin as you acknowledge his words.

“Do you think I idolise you?” he asks honestly, voice seemingly a little more serious as it leaves his mouth.

You let out a short, amused exhale as you hike your slightly fallen legs back up his torso. “You literally call me Angel-chan.” You reply.

Yamamoto stops for a moment, knowing that how he responds to this is important for your relationship with him. Whatever he feels for you, the spark in his heart when he sees your face, the light you shine into his life whenever you’re present. He doesn’t want you to feel like he doesn’t see you as an equal. Those precious moments where you let your guard down are everything to him.

“Would you prefer I use your real name?” he asks, trying and failing to catch a glimpse of your face. There’s a long pause as you hand idly traces circles in his shoulder. Yamamoto can feel his breathing stop as he waits.

“No, if it’s you I don’t mind.” You say finally and he can _feel_ the smile on your lips as you bury your face into his neck. The breath of relief is loud against the night air but he doesn’t mind. What matters is you know he cares about you for exactly who you are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aren't we all glad Ao3 is back up and running? Cause those four hours were the most productive i've been in days xD Also hope you enjoy the bumper pack of a chapter to apologies for my absence


	37. Hot Springs Trip (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A warm gesture

You had no idea a school trip could come with this much paper work. Outside the meeting room, you could hear your friends leaving the hot springs, chatting away and enjoying the warm medicinal benefits or the steam. Inside, was the quiet thrum of work with Hibari. It probably wouldn’t be so bad, but your injured arm was taking a toll on you. Movements feelings stiff and uncoordinated as you hunched over the low coffee table signing and checking over print. The bruising had gone down remarkably but the whip/tonfa injured arm still felt inflexible and uncoordinated at the best of times. You figure Hibari must know this, since your last fight had been weeks ago.  

By the time you’ve finished your paperwork, the sun has already set and the hot spring hotel is illuminated against the dark wash of the countryside. You stretch, taking in a deep breath as you lean back and arch to flex your sore back. Your senpai appears pleased when you hand over your work, something almost akin to a smile on his face.

Once he’s read it over, Hibari stands up, motioning for you to follow. You can see his tonfas sticking out under his disciplinary jacket and your heart speeds up. Finally, a fight.

To your surprise, he leads you to a changing room. Hibari doesn’t say anything or move from his usual cold stare as he passes you one of the two towels you’ve just noticed in his hand. You smile, taking it as a gesture of kindness and heading in to change.

Something’s a little strange when you walk in. There’s only one locker and one shower present in the changing room. You pause, you were pretty sure the entrance way to such a busy hot spring should have more than one locker, but you carry on. Only when you leave the shower room does it hit you _why_ the changing room is set out so. This isn’t the entrance way to the public baths, but a private one.

A large wooden tub is set in the middle of the floor. One side lined with a partition style wooden slates, the other half looking out high over the moonlit wilderness that lay just beyond the hotel grounds. It’s beautiful enough to take a bit of your breath away, as you gaze out at the achingly vast expanse of forestry and wildlife in front of you.

The padding sound of feet on wooden flooring breaks your concentration and quickly you step back into the changing room, hiding behind the door. The thought crosses your mind that Hibari might be taking this bath _traditionally­_ and you’re not sure if you’re quite ready to follow suit.

Thankfully, Hibari has a towel round his waist, not that that helps much with your less than innocent thoughts. He’s as pale as you imagined, a feature only highlighted against the waxing light of the dark clouded sky, it catches his skin as he crosses the floor. There’s something incredibly gorgeous about the way he moves, it catches you off guard seeing his movements so . . . exposed without his clothes. Almost every inch of him on display as he slips into the warm water. It strikes you only now how handsome your senpai is. The harsh contrast of his dark hair against his pale face, the sharp cut of his jaw, the slick muscle clinging to his body. Deadly, terrifying and handsome all rolled into one tall creature. You watch in awe as he closes his eyes and leans back.

“Are you going to stand there all day little animal?” he asks flatly after a moment, not opening his eyes.

There’s a long pause as you try to remember how your feet work.

“Join me or I’ll bite you to death.” He states coldly.

That gets your legs moving, fear jolting them back to life as your all but run to the bath and slip in before the prefect can make good on his threat. It’s hot, hot enough that you can see steam rise and lick the air around the tub as it pools up and away from the water. You can’t hold back a satisfied groan, the heat brushing against your skin in a soothing gentle motion. Once you sink in low enough, you rest your head on the edge, enjoying the slight burn that comes with the intense temperature of the bath.

“The heat will help.” Hibari informs you after a few minutes. Despite his regular stoic tone, you sense the care behind his words. The paper work had pushed your tired body over the edge, and made you miss the chance to try your first bath with friends. You wonder if this was possibly his way of making up for. Hibari -like you- being a person of action rather than words. You look at him for a moment, trying to read his face, trying to discern how much of this was chance, and how much was a gesture of kindness.

“Thank you.” You manage after a moment. You focus your attention on the view as you move over to the far side of the bath, settling your arms on the side of the tub and gazing out with your chin resting on your forearms. You imagine all the life that lay below you, the quiet bustle of animals and plants, the lives that passed through the hotel and onto other paths, all linked by a few moments and memories.

You have no idea how much time passes like that, basking in the comfortable quiet of the night. But when you look back you catch Hibari staring at you, steel eyes not shifting as they meet yours. A few months ago, it may have been a look that scared you, but now, in the moonlight shine of the night, it almost seems pleasantly familiar. If everything in this world changed, the one constant would be that look.

You move over to Hibari, taking a seat a few inches away from him. You can feel your heart start to drum in your chest as he allows you the proximity. Gradually, as you shimmy closer, remembering the last time you were this close to Hibari. The ferris wheel, the way you’d ashamedly fallen asleep on his lap, the kiss he’d stolen from you. There’s heat on your cheeks that you hope is just the steam from the bath as you settle against Hibaris side.

Hibari doesn’t stir or move away and you take that as a good sign, head feeling a little dizzy as you turn your face up to look at him. What exactly _are_ you to him? His little animal, a fellow guardian, a kohai? Did Senpais make habits of kissing their kohais? He was so hard to read, sometimes it kept you up at night deciphering and reasoning down his actions. His eyes meet yours and slowly you feel the pull between you tightening. Through the steam and the sheer temperature of the bath you see his face move closer to yours. Your whole body feels hot, no doubt a little red, but you feel your eyes close instinctively as you lean your head up to meet his.

A soft high pitched song breaks your actions. Hibird is perched on the edge of the tub, chirping the Namimori anthem as she tilts her head at the two of you. She flits over and settles in Hibaris hair, nestling her wings. You laugh a little at the action. Whatever moment had passed between the two of you was gone, but you didn’t mind. Hibird was a welcome presence as Hibari readjusted himself against the wall of the tub. You do the same, letting your arm rest against his as Hibird continues her song. It was alright, whatever you were to Hibari, you enjoyed moments like these.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammimt Hibird


	38. Spin the Bottle (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Round and round it goes, where it stops, only Haru knows

“It’s spin the bottle!” a familiar voice laughs, immediately you recognise it as Haru’s. She’d asked to meet you in the hotels kitchen after the lights outs, something about an adventure.

“Spin . . . the bottle?” You question, as you enter the stainless steel room.

Its dark, but the light from everyone’s phones illuminates the small circle as you sit on the floor next Yamamoto, who gives you a small welcoming smile. It’s still warm in the kitchen and the smell of dinner lingers in the air making your stomach rumble

“You’ve never played?” Haru asks, looking completely surprised.

Awkwardness floods over you as you rub the back of your neck. The amount of typical teenager things you _hadn’t_ done is starting to show, it makes you uncomfortable to admit it.

“I-I’ve never really . . .It’s about recycling, right?” you venture.

“Shut up and play you clueless idiot” Gokuderas voice is an annoyed hushed whisper. “doesn’t even know what spin the bottle is” he mumbles, more to himself than anyone else.

The concept of spin the bottle doesn’t vary much from the game of truth or dare you played last night. The app on Haru’s phone informing her of the dare as she spins the bottle. The dares start off fairly tame. Twenty push ups is nothing for you, but gradually there’s a more scandalous shift.

Haru and Tsuna have to hold hands the entire game, which sends your boss into a stuttering blushing spiral. Kyoko has to remove her bra without taking off her shirt and throw it out the window, Tsuna almost passes out when she successfully pulled the pink negligée from around her body. You could laugh at him, but then Yamamoto had been dared to keep his hand on your inner thigh. And you _know_ Yamamoto and you have always been close physically and this isn’t something that should affect you, but it’s causing you to feel all types of hot and bothered as you shift a little against the feeling.

The next round Tsuna is put on “time out” on Gokuderas lap and you swear it’s the only dare the Storm seemingly enjoys. That, and the next spin you have to give him your phone. He gets to text one person anything he wants.

Gokudera takes forever while the game goes on. You find yourself leaning over to try and see what he’s typing, but he quickly swipes it away when he catches you.

“If you didn’t want to do this dare you could have forfeit!” he lectures you, keeping the phone screen deliberately turned away from you.

“You can forfeit?” you ask, not having realised that was an option the entire game. You still have the horrid taste of wasabi on your tongue from the tub you had to eat and can’t help but think it would have been helpful to know you could forfeit _then_.

“I forfeit my phone dare!” you say, grabbing the phone back. Just in time as you realise Gokudera’s composing a more than insulting text to Hibari mentioning “Stick up your arse” and “rule-following fuck-nut”.

Haru swipes through her own phone, mumbling. “Forfeits mid dare. . .  A-ha! Seven minutes in heaven!” She says.

You have no idea what seven minutes in heaven is but it _has_ to be better than letting Gokudera send an unfiltered message to Hibari.

“The storage cupboard!” Haru gets up and points to a small open door at the back of the kitchen. 

Confusion only increases as you look between her and the cupboard.

“You go into the cupboard for 7 minutes.” She says, eagerly.

“So, I’m out the game?” you ask, furrowing your brow as you try to figure out which part of spending 7 minutes in a dark cupboard was _heaven._

“Something like that.” Haru says, delightfully manhandling you to the cupboard and shutting the door.

You don’t like the cupboard. First of all, it’s small and thin, the wall lines with shelves and awkward boxes left in the middle of what little space there is. Second, it’s dark, really dark. Can’t see in front of your face dark.

After a few minutes of searching for a light switch you give up and lean back against a wooden shelf, figuring someone will come get you once the seven minutes were up. After a short while the door creaks open, letting in a sliver of light. To your surprise, the grey haired storm guardian lets himself in, and closes the door behind him quietly.

“Gokudera?” you whisper, unsure if he’s lost the game too.

“What?!” he snaps.

“Geez, what’s with the attitude? Sad you forfeit and can’t keep playing with boss?” You tease lightly. He grumbles something about your cluelessness, using his foot to figure out where you are on the floor.

“Hey!” you complain. Kicking him back.

“Don’t kick me woman!” he barks.

“Don’t kick me then!” you retort.

“Don’t stand in front of me then!” Gokudera shouts, before you give him a sharp shove, tired of his antics. “There’s no where else to stand okay! If we’re gonna be here for seven minutes you might as well get comfy. It’s not as if there’s anything else to do in here.” You explain.

“That’s the whole point idiot!” He mutters angrily, righting himself on the floor. You pause for a moment, trying to figure out what Gokudera means. “We’re supposed to be bored?” you ask.

“No, you clueless idiot, we’re supposed to make out!” He gripes.

“Make out? In a cupboard?! What kind of game makes the forfeiters do that!?” you question, unable to figure out if he’s winding you up or not. The image of Gokuderas lips on yours taking over most of your concentration.

“It’s no worse than making out with someone on your bedroom floor!” he snipes.

“Who did that?” you ask, genuinely curious.

“WE DID IDIOT!” he shouts, shifting in his spot. The faint sound of a crash echoes from somewhere outside the cupboard, distracting you.

“What was that?” you question, reaching for your staff.

“Don’t change the subject! You can’t sit in here and get all worked up about making out when you’ve already had your first kiss!” Gokudera shouts, he’s close enough that you can feel the warmth of his breath on your face but his expression is hidden in the dark of the cupboard.

“I told you I don’t remember that!” You say in a pointed hushed tone. You could kick him right now, bringing up things you had no recollection of, getting you wound up.

“Then maybe you need to remember!” Gokudera snaps before leaning closer.

It’s sudden, the feeling of his hand around the back of your head. The smell of gunpowder and smoke filling your lungs as his lips make contact with yours, they’re coarse, warm and somewhat familiar as they press against yours.

Seconds of snapshots flicker in front of your eyes. Your bedroom. The book. Gokuderas soft grey hair the early evening sun.

It’s rough, and a little clumsy, but the memory is there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note: I’m so so sorry for missing last weeks upload, my laptop died and for a good 3 days I though I was gonna loose everything TT_TT Thank you for waiting and hope you enjoyed :D


	39. A Divided Front (Hibari, Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hibari finds you interlocked with a herbivore and he isn't happy

 

Hibari made a habit of patrolling the hotel. They were still in Namimori, this was still his territory.

Lights out had been a good two hours ago, but a wild giggle slips down the hallway that Hibari can’t ignore. Herbivores up past curfew, a reason worthy enough to be bitten to death.

The look of fear on the herbivores faces as he draws his tonfas I enough to fuel his desire for a fight. He doesn’t pay much attention to anything other than the scrimmage as he vaults over one of the kitchen counters and into the crowd of scurrying prey.

As he knocks down one of the herbivores he notes them glance of worriedly at a cupboard door on the far side of the room. It’s not much, but once the other herbivores have gone, Hibari walks across the dimly lit kitchen and flings open the door.

What he sees, makes his blood boil. The small strip of light let in from the door illuminating the scene against the dark cupboard. You, you’re there. Pinned to the wall by a greedy herbivore with his lips around yours. Everything goes red, Hibari doesn’t care for an explanation, herbivores shouldn’t touch his things.

The quick flick of his tonfas against the wooden door frame alerts you to his presence. Fear immediately striking on your face. The greedy herbivore too involved with kissing you to notice Hibari wants to knock the life out of him.  It’s a quick strike, aimed well, Hibari barely needs to think as he steps to bash the stupid herbivore off you.

But in the blink of an eye, you move. Shoving the herbivore out the way. Taking his place and bracing your arms for the attack.

 

Hibari can feel the crack through his metal sticks. There’s a moment of pure silence dominated by the piercing low snap that resonates through your arm. The injured one. The one he’d bandaged up not a week ago. Your cry could shatter ice, a sharp scream as you clutch your arm, Unable to do more than vocalise pain in animalistic nature as you fall to the floor.

The delinquent is looking at him, like primitive prey too shocked in the presence of a vicious predator. This is all his fault, trapping you in a cupboard, pushing himself on you. If he’d kept his hands off you, none of this would have happened.

Before Hibari can raise his tonfas, you cry out again. Unable to keep pain rising from your mouth. He watches in horror as you lean your injured side against the wall, pushing yourself up by the strength of your legs. Even _this_ injured you stood your ground. Through his worry a small flicker of pride rises and swelled in his chest. He pushes it down, right now you needed help.

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR?” The herbivores shouts at you, and Hibari doesn’t care why you saved him, this herbivore is getting bitten to death.

You put your hand on his, gently pushing down the tonfas he’s raised. Your mouth opens but all that comes out is an unsophisticated groan replacing any explanation for your actions.

Hibaris hands catch you before you can sink to the floor again. He can feel you trying to shove him off, proud little animal refusing his help. Any other time this might have been endearing.

 “I’m fine” you manage, through sharp inhales of breath.

Hibari gives you a cold hard look, a look telling you there was no point in wasting your breath lying to him.  Through gritted teeth you manage. “ I need . . .bandages.”

Finding his feet, the herbivore stands up. “You need more than bandages idiot, you need to get to a hospital.”

There’s irritation in your voice as you try, fruitlessly, to push past Hibari. “No . . . hospitals.” You reply, through captured breaths and smothered cries of pain. Hibari understands. He knows you well enough to know you deal with your wounds in private, something he could admire. Even though he’s never asked why, it seems important to you that your injuries are never at the cost of anyone else.

Hibari already attempting to pick you up when you shove him off with another pain soaked breath. “No hospitals.” You say, staring him down. Through ragged breaths you clutch your staff and shove it between you and him. “You try . . . and I’m biting you to death.” You manage.

Any other time this would have been an invitation, a fun jab that Hibari would take as rousing insult to draw him into a fight, but here your words are serious. He stares you down, how long before the pain become unbearable? How long before you pass out?

As if answering his question, the staff drops from your hand. Hibari grabs you just in time as your knees gives way and your body rolls forward. Stubborn little animal you were. Hibari remembers how insistent Reborn had been on taking you to a Vongola base after your fight with the Varia, and not a hospital. It strikes him that perhaps the Baby understood something about you he didn’t.

The herbivore picks your staff up and opens the door, waving for Hibari to move you out of the cupboard. It’s not much but he lays you on one of the cold metallic countertops. In the harsh striking light of the kitchen, he can see the bruise on your arm already forming, the painful yellow and purple pattern reignites his hatred for the herbivore.

“Fuck, where even is the nearest hospital?!” the herbivore shouts, searching on his phone.

“No hospitals.” Hibari repeats for you, and the herbivore looks at him like he’s an idiot.

“Not you too you, bastard.” The herbivore spits as Hibari pointedly stands between him and the countertop you’re currently resting on. Hibari doesn’t care, you said no hospitals, so no hospitals it was. Besides, he doesn’t want this herbivore touching or going near you ever again.

The herbivore shows him a map on his phone. “Look there’s one just under a mile from here, we can make it.”

Hibari’s not interested. You had said no hospitals, you had _threatened_ your senpai over it. He raises his tonfas to reiterate his point. The herbivore seemingly asking for a beating. Hibari’s quick, a strike to the face, knocking him off his feet and onto the ground. “No hospitals.” He repeats flatly.

“Bastard, you can’t just beat up everything you don’t like into submission.” The herbivore says, already reaching for his dynamite. Hibari knows this is ridiculous, of course he can beat up everything he doesn’t like, he’s Hibari Kyouya. To show this point Hibari unleashes a flurry of attacks. Who was this herbivore to tell him what to do.

The fight is unrelenting, Hibari thoroughly enjoying beating the shit out of the greedy, disrespectful herbivore. Every pleasing thud of his metal tonfas against the Herbivores body fuels the fire in his body. That is until he knocks the herbivore back against the edge of the countertop you’re resting on.

He doesn’t move and neither does his opponent.

“Fine.” The herbivore huffs and pulls out his phone, calling someone. Hibari smirks, satisfied with his win as he stands over you. He has no idea what the herbivore is doing, but if it doesn’t work he’s happy to lay down another round of beatings.

There’s bickering and Italian words coming from the phone but after an annoyingly loud conversation the herbivore snaps his phone shut and grumbles something about help being on the way.

They wait in silence, which Hibari is fine with but the idiotic herbivore keeps looking at you, worry etched onto his face. It’s irritating, every time the herbivores eyes slide over your face there’s a kind of affectionate concern in his eyes that makes Hibari want to beat him into the ground. Before he can get a chance to threaten the herbivore again, the sound of the kitchen door opening catches his attention.

There in the doorway stands a very tipsy looking herbivore.

“Hayato!” the herbivore shouts, waving his hand enthusiastically.

The grey haired herbivore grumbles and scolds him, referring to him as Dr Shamal when he explains the situation. They have a strained conversation. One herbivore never calls the other unless it an emergency, the other herbivore seemingly too much of an annoyance and an “opportunistic pervert.”

The conversation’s almost too loud and Hibari has to remind himself that this person is here to help you and the quicker he works, the sooner the noise will be gone. Not that Hibari likes the way the doctor works. His first point of order is that he can only fix your arm if he knows your bra size. A statement that earns him a smack from both Hibari and Gokudera. Hibari seething as he stares at the herbivore for bringing in such a nuisance.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t want him here either.” The herbivore huffs, crossing his arms “No fucking hospitals.” He whispers under his breath, tilting his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose. Silence passes and hangs tense in the air until, eventually, the doctor turns back to them. “It’s a clean break. I’ve made a rough splint but a hospital would b—”

Hibari’s already tired of this talk and shoves a tonfa against the doctors throat. “No hospitals or I’ll bite you to death.” He states coldly.

The doctor holds up his hands, laughing. “Wow! You’re feisty, you got a sister?” he asks, seemingly serious until the herbivore smacks him. “Alright, alright. You can take her home to the Vongola base, I should be able to get a proper x-ray cast set up there.” The doctor says, rubbing his head. Hibari sends the herbivore a smirk gilded look, _See you can just beat everything you don’t like into submission._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this chapter! I really wanted to do something with Hibari and Gokudera fighting over the reader character. I wanted to do a bit more with Gokudera but Hibari point of view kind of ended up being a challenge i wanted to try. Poor baby finding you kissing someone else! TT_TT But also violence is like ALWAYS the answer for Hibari which doesn't help when Gokudera is ready to throw down 24/8 with him. Surprised the whole hotel didn't end up in tatters. Also Shamal is such a perv i couldn't resist throwing in the line from the manga. Hope you enjoyed!


	40. Painkillers and Their Roots (Hibari,Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're not liable for what you say while high on morphone

Gokudera had filled them in on the way home. Yamamoto asking what had happened after Hibari had cleared them out of the room for spin the bottle. Filled in was a bit generous, Gokudera had grumbled something about Hibari breaking your arm but refused to answer any details on how it had happened.

The med wing in Namimori is small, located directly beneath the Vongola house. The first thing Yamamoto notices is the strong smell of antiseptic and steriliser fluid as he opens the door.  There’s a long row of pale white beds with even paler green sheets neatly tucked on top. At the closets end, Yamamoto spots you. To his great relief, you’re sound asleep, an indifferent Hibari sitting in the chair next to your bed. He doesn’t acknowledge Yamamoto’s presence, but he shifts his weight from one side of the chair to the side closest to you, in an almost possessive manner.

Gokudera’s doctor friend is seemingly also kept at arm’s length by Hibari as he glares at the approaching herbivore.

Gokudera exchanges a few words with the doctor, who Yamamoto learns is Shamal. They’re speaking in Italian but Yamamoto nods along anyway because he’s standing almost between them and it feels rude not to. The conversation ends when Shamal makes some kind of lewd comment involving your name and Gokudera smacks him.

“She’s going to be fine. It’s a clean fracture so – once your _friend_ here finally let me close enough- I reset the bone, cast it and gave her enough morphine to make the pain manageable.” The doctor explains, rubbing his head and turning his attention to the group. Before he says another word, he catches sight of Kyoko and Haru.

“You’ve brought more lovely ladies to my wing Hayato.” He coos, stepping in front of them and placing a hand on each of their cheeks, a slimy grin on his face as he pinches. “You know, I do free breast screenings for ladies as pretty as yourselves.”

That comment earns him another smack from Gokudera, who swears violently in Italian as he fists the Doctors shirt collar, no doubt threatening another punch.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He says, but not before hiding one half of his face with his hand and mouthing _no I’m not_ as he winks at the girls.

Yamamoto leaves Shamal in Gokuderas care as he approaches your bed, keeping a mindful awareness of Hibari. The cloud guardian seems pissed off enough with the ruckus and Yamamoto doesn’t want to step on anyone’s toes. Carefully, he places a hand on the side rail of the bed and takes a moment to asses you. Breathing, and not unlike the peaceful way he’s caught you in the beautiful early hours of the morning. Yamamoto notices Hibari is doing something similar, his arm idly slunk between the railings and resting next to your injured one protectively.

“What happened?” Yamamoto asks Hibari, being careful not to be too loud as he turns his attention toward the prefect.

Hibari crosses his legs and lets out a disinterested _hnn,_ but Yamamoto notices the way his eyes strike over to the storm guardian, a piercing distain on his face before he looks back at your bed. He’s about to try asking in a different way when you make a noise.

 “BoOooSs?” you question, as you open your eyes and Yamamoto watches them focus in on Tsuna. A smile slides across your face and you try to sit yourself up with your bad arm.  “Everything feels fuzzy.” You manage, before Yamamoto has to grab your side to stop you falling over as you stare confused at the sling around your arm.  

“Aye careful!” the rain guardian laughs, propping you up with the most delicate of care. It takes you a moment to gather your surroundings but once you’re lucid enough you nod and thank him. Yamamotos heart giving a sigh of relief when your eyes meet his.

“What happened?” Haru asks, taking your free hand and holding it worriedly in hers.

“Gokudera got my arm broke.” You manage, words coming out haphazardly as your tongue seems to go soft in your mouth.

“You shoved me out the way idiot!” The storm guardian snipes. Only causing more confused looks from the group. Out of the corner of Yamamotos vision Hibari rolls his eyes and rests a hand over his tonfa.

“Booooooo!” you stick your tongue out at him childishly. “Bosss, Gokuderas being mean again.”

Tsuna stutters nervously, unsure how to deal with his two arguing guardians.

“Gokudera broke your arm?” Yamamoto asks, in an attempt to clear up the confusion. He rests a hand on your good shoulder casually, watching for Hibari’s reaction as well as your own.

You loll your head slightly, as if trying to look up at him but not quite having the right control over your muscles. Gokudera shakes his head and Yamamoto thinks there’s a strange shade of embarrassment on his cheeks as he dips his head and looks away.

Your expression changes as you catch sight of Shamal. “Boss!” you motioned for Tsuna to come closer. Leaning over, you hold a hand over his ear. “This doctor is part of the mafia.” You whisper inadvertently loud enough for everyone to hear.

Tsuna gives you a worried look before looking at Shamal. “Admittedly _enough morphine to make the pain bearable_ is a lot of morphine. She might be a bit out of it for a while.” Shamal says offhandedly.

“Hahi, will she have to stay here?” Haru asks, eyeing up the perverted doctor.

It’s clear from the looks passed between the four male guardians that that isn’t an option. Yamamoto’s hand protectively gripping your shoulder. 

“I think someone needs to come home.” Yamamoto smiles. “People always recover quicker when they’re somewhere familiar.” He says, not wanting to leave you in the perverted hands of the Italian doctor. Especially not when you were so vulnerable.

“Are you going to be able to walk Angel-chan?” Kyoko asks.

It hasn’t occurred to anyone but that might actually be a problem until Kyoko brings it up, morphine doing strange things to a person’s body and mind.

“Kyooookooooo-chaaaannnn.” You smile, attempting to slide out the bed. “Did you know bOOOOoooss has a massive cr-“ You’re interrupted by a very worried Gokudera as he slams a hand over your mouth.

“A massive cr?” Kyoko questions, tilting her head to the side.

“Ahh, a . . . a massive crab!” Gokudera covers, looking all to unconvinced by his own words.  Tsuna nods and looks over at you, silently begging you not to say anymore. He didn’t get a response from you before your attention moves onto something else. Your foot makes contact with the ground.

“I’m gonna walk ‘aru” you beam proudly.

Fearlessly, you shift your weight off the bed and Yamamoto has a mini heart attack as he catches you quickly falling body.

 “Whoaa, I think you need a bit of help there.” Without hesitation Yamamaoto sweeps you up and cradles you between his arms. Your broken arm supported against his chest, he tries not to feel too happy about having you so close, but it bring a warm fuzzy sensation over his body that he can’t deny.

“Oi! That’s not safe!” Gokudera calls, but Dr Shamal seems to pull him back before Gokudera can make any further demands. Yamamoto’s about to walk out with you, when he feels something circular and flat land against his side.

He’s barely surprised when he turns around to find Hibari glaring him down.

“Drop her, herbivore.” The prefect demands, prodding the tonfa deeper into Yamamotos side.

Yamamoto laughs, slightly humoured by Hibari’svpoor choice of words. “I don’t think dropping would be a good idea in her current condition.” He chuckles.

Hibari’s eyes narrow and so do Yamamoto’s.

You stir in his arms and mumble something to Hibari about only having one more arm to break. Yamamoto relaxes and lets out a light hearted laugh. Despite the joke, Hibari’s tonfa doesn’t move from his side. Yamamoto doesn’t have it in him to fight, so he finds a resolution. He gestures for Hibari to follow him out the med base away from the others and stops once the door closes behind them.

“You know, I hurt my shoulder a little while practicing today. Do you want to carry her instead? He asks nonchalantly.

Hibari doesn’t say anything, but the cloud guardian moves to stand in front of him. It’s a big enough gesture that Yamamoto understands. There’s a strange tug of sadness as he gently passes you over to the prefect, his skin missing the touch of yours. Yamamoto pushes it down and instead focuses on how, now, if anything happens he has his arms free to protect you.

As they walk, Yamamoto finds his eyes drawn to you. He watches contentedly as you attempt to fight off the morphine induced nap your body is so clearly demanding. He thinks about how pretty you look like that, so cute he just wants to steal you from Hibari’s arms and keep you all to himself. Maybe later he could bundle you up in blankets and watch over you while you sleep/

“Herbivore.” Hibari says, his cold voice drawing Yamamoto from his day dream. Hibari gestures to the heavy wooden door that leads to your room. Yamamoto presses a hand against the door, but it doesn’t budge. For a second Yamamoto fiddles with his own key before realising that won’t work on your door.

“I don’t have the right key.” He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck earnestly.

Hibari looks at him, then at you, asleep in his arms.

“Check her pocket.” Hibari instructs, after a moment.

Yamamoto’s not _too_ sure how to access both your trouser pocket while Hibari has you bundled in his arms, but he tries. Worst luck, it’s not in the pocket closest to him. Awkwardly he reaches over, being careful not to touch your freshly cast arm, or anywhere indecent.

Yamamoto accidently disturbs you, a few too many finger wiggles in search of the keys. His brown eyes meeting yours as you sleepily open one to inspect the sudden disturbance. You look from him, to Hibari, and then down at Yamamotos hand on your hip.

“Two handsome men touching me? Must be a good night.” You mumble, before closing your one open eye and settling back to sleep.

Yamamoto can feel Hibari smirk at him as the warmth spread to his cheeks and across his whole face.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for being patient with this weeks uploads, and all the kudos, bookmarks and subcriptions guys, it makes such a difference to my motivation! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, who doesn't love when Yamamoto and his lil easy going heart? (｡◕‿◕｡) Also overly protective Hibari is so fun to write! Do you think he still blames Gokudera or himself?  
> Either way i hope you're all excited for the next few chapters, probably goes without saying but reader character is gonna need a lot more help from her guardian friends *wink wink* *nudge nudge*


	41. Morphine and Its Side Effects (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yamamoto just wants to protect you

 

The more time Yamamoto spends around you on morphine, the more he’s convinced you’re his favourite person in the world. It’s adorable really, you have so many stories to tell him. Or rather you have so many stories to _start_ telling him, before you inevitably get distracted by the tiniest of things and jump, mid narrative to a completely different story. Yamamoto loves it, he hasn’t left your bedside since he and Hibari carried you back from the hospital.

It’s so rare, he thinks to himself as he rests his head on folded arms and just _watches_ you speak. Your speech is slurred, and he’s pretty sure you’ve been telling him the same part of your encounter with some Icelandic mafia family for the past half hour, but he feels no need to interrupt you. He rarely gets to hear you talk for so long.

It’s only when you look at him that Yamamoto realises he’s staring at you and laughs at himself, rubbing the back of his neck and apologising.

He has to stop you all but rolling out of the bed as you declare you’re hungry and once again forget about your injured arm, trying to use it to manoeuvre onto the floor. Somehow, even half dazed and un-coordinated, you were endearingly cute. Yamamoto grins as he lifts you back into bed and asks you to be good while he goes to get food. His heart feels warm as you laugh and tell him he doesn’t need to look after you. The thought plays in his head as he searches through the fridge in the Vongola kitchen. Of course he had to look after you, we’ll not _had to_ , he reasons to himself. More he wants to, it was rare for you to let your guard down, he wanted to be the one to protect you when you needed it. Because that’s what friends do for each other.

He’s gone for maybe two minutes, grabbing a protein bar from the cupboard, but when he returns you’ve somehow made it onto the floor and decided to nap.

“You can’t fall asleep on the floor.” Yamamoto urges, playfully attempting to pick you up. You refuse, lazily rolling away from him. He can only laugh, sitting himself down on the floor next to you. “What am I going to do with you Angel-chan?” he grins, handing you the protein bar.

You seemingly ponder this for a moment, still refusing to move from the floor. “Love me, feed me, tell me all your secrets so I can sell them to the mafia.” You reply. Yamamoto lies down on his side next to you, propping his head up with his hand. “Is that all?” He smiles.

“Maybe occasionally we can read together.” You say, staring up at the ceiling with a content look on your face as you close your eyes. “I know you’re not a big fan, but I like doing that together.” You continue.

Yamamoto certainly isn’t the biggest reader in the world, but he likes reading with you. You ask for his help with new words, pointing out jokes or lines you think are good. Best of all, he can read over your shoulder when you sit between his legs, and there’s nothing sweeter than having you close to him. Feeling the rise and fall of your body against his, the warmth of his skin contrasting harmoniously with the cool of your touch. The way you nestle yourself into him, letting him know you’re comfortable, and safe, and _content_ with being there.

He’s not going to tell you all of that, but he gives a positive hum. “I like doing that too.” He grins.

You give your own lazy smile and reach over to pull a book off the top of your bedside cabinet. Sitting up, you show it to him and gesture toward the spot behind you. Yamamoto knows what you want, without a word he slides in, chest settling against your back as his legs sit either side of you.

He has no idea what the book’s about, but this is his favourite place to be.  To his enjoyment, you’re still talkative, deviating several times from the book to tell him seemingly random factoids and information.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.” You confess, looking up at him with an apologetic laugh on your lips.

“It’s okay, I like hearing you talk.” He smiles back appreciatively, keen to let you talk all day if you’d do it.

Yamamoto’s rewarded with the sensation of you shuffling closer into him, he can feel you twist so your forehead is resting against his neck, free hand on his chest. There’s a content sigh on your lips as he closes his arms around you, legs tucking yours in.

From this position, it’s like Yamamoto can hold all of you, keep you protected and close in his space. The thought sends a happy buzz through his body.

“Your hearts beating really fast.” You mumble into his shoulder, and Yamamoto freezes. _Did you know what that meant?_

“So’s mine.” You say, turning to face your chest against his.

Yamamoto’s pretty sure you can _feel_ his heart beat through his chest, pounding against his body the sound echoes in his ears. He can’t see your face as your legs wrap around his hips, free arm slinking over his neck, but he can hear your breath oh-so close to his ear.Your laugh is soft against his skin. “It’s like we’ve been fighting or something.” You say.

He smiles, letting his arm curl around your back and hugging you close. _Of course, you’d think it was about fighting._

“Or something.” He responds quietly. The smell of you is everywhere, Yamamoto could drown in it as he runs his hands through your hair. It’s bliss, having you so intimate and comfortable with him. Even if the sudden desire for physical contact is just a side effect of the drug, Yamamoto welcomes it. He feels as though he can protect you like this.

“Yamamoto-kun?” You ask after a quiet moment.

He responds with a positive hum, half his mind lost to the sensation of you against him.

“I wouldn’t really sell all your secrets to the mafia.” You whisper.He laughs at that, low and soft because he knows that’s a serious topic coming from you. He buries his face into your neck, embracing the warm glow that floods his body from your contact.

“I won’t sell yours either.” He responds in kind.

“Thanks.” You mumble before closing your eyes.


	42. Trainwreck (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera and caring go together like dynamite and a china shop, disastrously.

You haven’t seen Gokudera since you broke your arm. Not that Yamamoto wasn’t wonderful at looking after you, but you missed the loud Italian boy. Yamamoto isn’t there when you wake up in the morning, but Gokudera is. Or rather, he’s the reason you’ve woken up. Barging through your door with an oversized bag of convenience store food and DVDS.

“Wake up idiot.” He grumbles, practically throwing the white branded bag onto your lap with a loud thud.

You complain, asking if anyone’s ever told him he should be gentle with the injured. He just rolls his eyes and pulls open your curtains without so much as a warning. The sudden influx of the summer sun momentarily blinds you and slipping your head under the convers, you let out a loud moan of complaint. “Just cause you broke your arm doesn’t mean you’re nocturnal. C’mon.” The storm guardian says sternly, poking the duvet in various spots to rouse you from your hiding space. You drag out the syllables in his name, disapproving and childishly resistant as you squirm under your covers.

“The baseball idiot left me in charge today, we have a schedule.” He informs you, resorting to kicking the wooden bed leg. You grumble and stick your head out the duvet to see one very pissed off Gokudera, complete with folded arms and a trade mark irritated look. “A Schedule?” You clarify, trying not to laugh at how angry you’ve made your new carer. Gokudera seemingly more wound up than usual today.

Gokudera nods and hands you a piece of paper. The writing on it is barely legible, indicating Yamamoto wrote it, but you can make out a few things: breakfast, help with cleaning, movies, lunch, story time and then bed. It reads more like the schedule for a small toddler than a near full grown adult, but you appreciate the sentiment. You look at Gokudera doubtfully. “ _You’re_ going to look after me?”

Gokuderas eye brows twitches in frustration. Loudly he insists he can look after you better than the baseball idiot could, and you can’t hold back a laugh as you slip out of your bed and head over to your chest of drawers. You scold yourself as you realise all your clothes are spilled around the floor. Gathering up you dirty clothes pile and heading for the door, a loud “Oi!” stops you. “I said I’m looking after you.” Gokudera all but demands, His hand lands on your laundry as he steps in front of you. There’s a visible look of irritation and restraint in his voice. “Look, just . . . just let me help okay!” He practically shouts at you, as he grabs the laundry from your hand and heads out the door.

He carries your laundry awkwardly, hiding the strange tinge of pink on his cheeks. The food and DVDs were one thing but doing your laundry was . . . a little _personal,_ though admittedly helpful in your current state. You didn’t want to think about it for too long. Grabbing a towel, you head to the shower block.

It’s only when you return from your shower – and discover Gokudera has picked up your pyjamas too- that you realise the problem. Those pyjamas were the last of your clean clothes. Fear rushes through your body and a hand instinctively comes to feel the towel around your body. You still had the towel. But you couldn’t spend all day in that.

 As if following some disastrous que, Gokudera walks into your room.  “Fuck woman put some clothes on!” Gokudera shouts, as you dive behind your bed for some extra cover.

“Don’t just walk in here!” You shout, peering over the bed to see a slightly flustered Gokudera covering his eyes. There was a long silence, neither of you moving.

“Are you dressed yet?” he asks, turning his back to you, as if trying to prove he isn’t looking “N-no” you reply.

“Then get dressed idiot!” He scolds. You explain that the laundry he took was all the clothes you owned. He snaps at you for being so stupid, which you then shout at him that he isn’t helping. “Wait here.” He mumbles.

Before long he returns with a handful of clothes, throwing them onto your bed and slamming the door behind him.

They aren’t bad, a pair of black jeans, a white top and some woman’s boxers. You can’t help but wonder where he got them as you awkwardly tried to co-ordinate dressing sans one arm. They fit well, there is just one problem, no bra and a white shirt did _not_ mix. You call through the door and ask if he has a jacket you can borrow.

“It’s not enough you take my clothes - now you want my jacket?” He huffs

“They’re your clothes?!” You shout back

“WHAT YOU THINK I CARRY AROUND WOMENS CLOTHES AT A FUCKING DROP OF A HAT?!” He yells

The smell of nicotine and gun powder suddenly hit your nose. It’s on the shirt, on the jeans, on everything. You scream internally realising the underwear isn’t girls underwear at all. Gradually, your body becomes hyperaware of every inch of fabric clinging to you.

“There are your clothes?!” You shout, still in disbelief. “They’re my clothes!” The voice responds from just beyond the door

“Why did you give me your clothes?!” You wail. “You said you needed you didn’t have anything to wear. Fuck, stop shouting!” Gokudera shouts back.

“You wore these clothes?!” You whine. “I wore these clothes!” A progressively more pissed off voice confirms.

“LIKE RECENTLY?!” You questions, making no attempts to mask the freaked out tone in your voice. “I DON’T KNOW WOMEN! LOOK DO YOU WANT THE FUCKING CLOTHES OR NOT?!” Gokudera shouts, finally snapping.

As much as it weirds you out, you didn’t really have any other choice. Swallowing down the alien feeling of the cotton around your skin you opened the door. Taking a deep breath you step out, hoping the bandaging from you sling covered enough of your chest. Gokudera is staring at you. You feel panic rise as you watch his mouth gape open. Could he see your chest? Did the outfit look wrong? Several questions fly past your mind as he seems frozen in front of you. “I-is everything alright?” You ask cautiously.

Gokudera turns his head away, but you catch the light pink on his cheeks. “You  . . . you don’t look bad.” He grumbles, barely louder than a whisper. You grin at him, you’re taking that compliment to your grave.“A jacket . . . please?” You remind him, gently.

Gokudera goes to this room, appearing with an oversized denim jacket. It’s big enough to cover you and hide your sling which you liked. You can’t help but wonder if you looked as bad-ass in Gokudera’s clothes as he did. You decided to test it out, taking one of the loose cigarettes from his pocket and popping it in your mouth. “Oi woman you’re such a pain.” You mimic.

“I don’t sound like that!” he protests.

“You sound _exactly_ like that!” You smirk trying to keep the cigarette in your mouth as you speak, it’s harder than it looks. “Whatever. Don’t get too comfy in those I want them back, CLEAN!” Gokudera scowls. He’s a little more touchy than usual today, you note. But grin to yourself, Gokudera has a really weird way of showing he cares.

 “So, what was your master plan for looking after me while I’m so fragile?” You ask, he sighs and heads back into your room pointing to the bag he brought for you.

“I bought you some DVDS and a book, So you can shut up and stop causing trouble.” He says. You follow him and bounce yourself onto the bed. The DVDS are mostly low budget Sci-fi knock offs; The night of the thing, the creature from the purple lagoon, Werewolves of Tokoyo.  You laugh and tell him you can watch DVDs by yourself, he doesn’t have to trouble himself. Because really, he seems on edge today, and he’s only ever _this_ uncooperative and loud when something bothering him.

The storm guardian flops down onto the far end of your bed and sulks. “Yes I do.” He replies, progressively looking more and more awkward. You tilt your head to try and get a better look at your fellow guardian. He’s worrying his hands together and looking everywhere but at you. Then it clicks; why he’s looking after you today, why he’s so wound up. You shuffle closer, letting your legs fall off the bed next to his. You move your head down to make eye contact, falling into his gaze. You don’t warn him, that’s part of it, instead you practically throw you lips to his like a metal drawn to a magnet.

The kiss lasts only a few seconds, like the kiss he’d given you. The feel of his lips no longer alien to you, the smell of his hair a strange comfort as it mingles with the scent of his clothes. A hand comes up to hold the back of his head in place, the way he did yours. You’d be lying if you said you didn’t feel a flicker of something kindle in your chest. You pull away, a little breathless, and grinning. “There, now we’re even.”

Gokudera is dumbfounded for a moment, mouth forming words with no sound. Then, slowly, his face shifts and he gives you a look that tells you you’re the biggest idiot in the fucking world.

“What the fuck was that for?! You can’t just kiss someone without warning!” He sputters defensively, though it’s the dark shade of red that cascades down his face that tells you his anger is merely posturing. You explain your theory, that he feels awkward about kissing you. So, the only way for it not to be awkward is if you kiss him too.

He stutters, trying to hide his embarrassment behind anger and shouting. Apparently, _That’s not how it works_ and _He maybe wouldn’t be so awkward if you hadn’t been stupid enough to get your arm broken_.

You laugh and offer to break his arm too if that would help. His rant stops mid sentence and for a split second he looks seriously worried you’re gonna do it.

He relaxes after a moment and puffs out his cheeks like you’re the biggest annoyance of his life. “You’re such a pain woman you know that.” Gokudera mumbles, reaching back and picking up a DVD. He makes a point to hide his face from you, and you wonder whether he’s waiting for his face to return to a normal colour. He pulls up your laptop and shoves in the DVD.

“Just don’t go doing that again without warning.” He mumbles, lying back on your bed and waiting for you to join him. You do so happily, letting your shoulder align with his. A distance you know Gokudera is comfortable with.

“Does that mean I can do it again if I warn you?” You ask, teasingly.

Whatever Gokudera was going to say next sticks in his throat as red re-appears on his cheeks again. He smacks you repeatedly with the DVD case until you take it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh i really hoped you guys like this! I had so many different drafts of this chapter (；・∀・) , from Gokuderas perspective: i had a whole conversation between him and Tsuna where Tsuna tries to hype him up to seeing you. And then another draft had Yamamoto involved helping you two get along again. But none seemed right cause Gokudera is probably the kind of person who finds apologising hard? So then i figured it'd be super cute if he tried himself to face the problem head on but just ended up being a big shouty awkward ball of emotion like we all know him for. The reader perspective ended up being more fun and a little more light hearted, imagine kissing Gokudera without warning. Whatever will happen next? (・ωｰ)～☆


	43. Little Animal (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The past is the past

It’s the smell that tips Hibari off before anything else. A distinct waft of the delinquent’s herbivores cigarettes seeps into the pristine disciplinary room, disturbing his work.

Hibari’s already out his seat, hands griping tonfas when he hears the steps echo through the school hallway. To his surprise, when the door opens it’s not the loud mouth herbivore, but you.  You smile, stating you’d go this text about having homework to pick up. An idle excuse he’d found to make sure you were okay after leaving you in the incompetent hands of the herbivores at the Vongola house.

Hibari can’t quite figure out what to ask you first. Why you were wearing that herbivores clothes or why you hadn’t worn your school uniform like you do every other day. He votes for neither, as he sits back down at his desk and eyes your form, crossing the room you look around for your homework. Even injured you move so fluidly, so beautifully.

You notice him staring, but before you can say anything the grey steel door to the disciplinary room is flung open. It’s the bucking horse, an annoyingly optimistic smile on his face. He wants something, no doubt under the name of “training”. Hibari doesn’t need to be trained, he’d voiced that clearly several times. But the horse isn’t listening. The horse is looking at you, staring.

You hold the horses gaze for a moment, the two of you like creatures caught passing in the night. Neither moving, but neither daring to take their eyes off the other.

The horse says something to you in Italian, slowly.  “Sorella bruciata.”

Hibari has no idea what it means, but your eyes go wide. _When had you learnt Italian? More importantly when had you met that irritating horse?_

Dino moves to grab his whip and you make to grab your staff, but Hibari’s faster. In an instant he’s in front of you, not about to let you fight in your injured state. You were his prey, not Dino’s. The look he gives you should tell you that. The look he gives you should have make you back down.

“Move Kyouya” Dino’s voice is stern as he brings out his own weapon.

You mutter something in Italian, something that strikes aggression into the horse. Dino flicking his whip in a curved motion to bypass Hibari and hit you.

You dodge, but it’s off, actions not yet aligned to manoeuvring with a broken arm. Hibari can see even the grip around your staff is compromised. You can’t fight like this, though it’s laudable that you try.

Hibari’s about to step in, when Dino steps in front of him in a strangely protective manner. Hibari doesn’t understand what’s going on, and that annoys him. Smacking his tonfa round the side of the horses head, he kicks the Cavallonne boss onto the green sofa, out of your way and his.

You stare bewildered at him, then at Dino. Hibari looks between the two of you, beyond annoyed at the bizarreness of the situation. “Kyouya!” Dino scolds him, rubbing the injured site on his head. Dino still has his whip drawn and Hibari doesn’t like that. He growls, drawing his tonfas up for another hit.

“I’m not the one you should be threatening.” Dino retaliates.

Hibari looks at you, already growing tired of the horse’s antics. You’re still on edge, staff gripped firmly in your uninjured hand, body low and ready to move at any moment. A tense atmosphere floods the room.

Hibari doesn’t want Dino going near you, to make that clear he puts himself in front of you. Dino takes a moment to assess his actions, a disgruntled look on his face as he gestures for the two of you to sit down on the opposite sofa. Hibari doesn’t sit, but perches protectively on the arm. “Explain to me what’s going on here.” Dino demands, trying very audibly to control his tone.

Hibari looks at you, keeping his face disinterested as he waits for an explanation. He watches you take a deep breath and being saying something to Dino in Italian.

“No Italian.” He says sternly, wanting to understand what has riled up the horse so much.

“I don’t know how you were _involved_ in that event.” You pause, seemingly choosing your words carefully. “But attacking me doesn’t seem like the smartest thing to be doing right now.”

You cross your legs, resting a forearm atop your knee. Hibari notices how you run your thumb over the Vongola ring on your finger, twisting it not so subtly, Dino grimaces. Hibari catches on quickly that there’s a language being spoken between the two of you he doesn’t quite understand. He observes as Dino also closes off his body language, crossing his legs and folding his arms defensively. “I thought I recognised you from somewhere.” Dino says, anger seething into every word.

You meet Dino’s gaze. There’s a noteworthy shift in your body, you’re sitting taller, your movements more pointed, body on edge for the next action. It reminds Hibari of an animal, sizing up another species, alert and aggressive. “The school uniform throw you off that much?” You smirk, an amused huff of air blowing through your nose.

Hibari doesn’t miss the way Dino’s hand hovers over his whip. He finds it incredibly entertaining that for all the broncos lesson, Dino is struggling to keep his calm against a Kohai. Hibari shifts on the arm of the sofa, pointedly allowing his disciplinary jacket to shift and reveal his tonfas. Lest Dino forget he’s not allowed to harm you.

There’s a tense silence in the air as the two of you stare each other down. Finally, Dino breaks it.

“So, what’s the deal here? You using the Vongola for information? You planning on stealing something? Maybe burning down a building or two when you can’t get your way.” There’s malice in his words, only miss-able to a man both blind, deaf and mute.

That gets Hibari’s attention. He’d never asked about your life before Namimori, but you seemed to prefer that. The past was the past, it didn’t matter to people like you and him. But still, he finds himself watching you, hard eyes unable to stop themselves from interrogating you for any sign of a reaction.

“Don’t.” You warn, almost under your breath.

“They were innocent people!” Dino snaps, hands wring on the edge of his whip.

“Nobody’s innocent in the mafia.” You retort, Hibari can see you go for you staff and growls. Both of you were getting on his last nerve.

“My men were in there.” Dino seethes, hands twisting the now completely curled whip.

You uncoil yourself, dripping back onto the sofa. Something about the previous sentence seemingly giving you the upper hand that warrants the confidence to relax, while Dino stays rigid. Hibari smirks to himself, this side of you was incredibly attractive. His little animal going head to head with the horse.

“And _that’s_ why you care. You can talk all you want about innocence but really, you only care about yours.” You sneer. “Tell me, does being up on your high horse all the time come with the family name or is that an annoying trait you made all your own?” You say, stretching your good arm along the back of the sofa in a self-assured manner.

Hibari lets out an amused _hmph_ and cocks his head over to look at you properly. You truly are an entertaining little animal. He’s enjoying this new attitude, especially seeing the horse on the receiving end of it.

“After everything you’ve done, Reborn just invites you into the Vongola.” Dino growls, leaning forward, whip tightly in hand.

You take a deep breath. “Temporarily yes. He needs something from me and I need something from him. Isn’t that how these things usually work?” You say to him, inspecting your nails idly.

There’s a long silence. Hibari feels he’s had his fill for information for now and moves to leave.  Dino looks at Hibari, eyes narrowing as they slide back to you. “I want a moment alone with Kyouya.”

You shrug, slowly, casually, seemingly deciding any threat Dino posed has now sufficiently deescalated. Politely, you excuse yourself and slink out the door, Hibari watches the way your hips sling from side to side as you leave.

“Kyouya.” Dino breaths, rising up from his seat and standing in front of Hibari. “Listen to me very carefully.”

Hibari meets the horses eyes, glaring him down.

“Don’t trust her. I don’t know what Reborn’s planning but listen to me.” Dino places both two hands on Hibari shoulders, an action Hibari did not ask for and certainly did not welcome. He shoves the older mans hands off. “She’s not someone you want in the family.” Dino continues. Hibari finding it hilarious Dino still thinks he wants to be part of any _family,_ mafia or not. “I know you don’t exactly get . . . close to people Kyouya, but, don’t get close to her. She’s a murderer, and a liar, and a double crosser and, and not someone you should associate yourself with.” Dino says.

The horse lingers, words on the edge of his tongue that don’t materialise. “I’m going to have a talk with Reborn.” is all he manages before he walks out the door.

 

It’s not hard to guess where you’ve gone. Alone on the rooftop, you’re hunched against the link fencing, broken arm cradled by your free one. You don’t notice him walking over and jump slightly when you see him standing over you.

Hibari glares you down, letting you take a moment to remember where you are. Once you meet his gaze you don’t say anything and turn to look out at the view over Namimori. “I’m not apologising for anything. Not to the Cavallone, not to Reborn or anyone.” You tell him flatly. There’s a stern look on your face as your brows furrow. Hibari doesn’t respond, but he takes a seat next to you on the roof top tiles. He understands. You didn’t owe anyone an apology; your actions were your own and you stood by them. If Hibari were capable of such an emotion, he might have to call that admirable.

“Don’t listen to the bucking horse.” He says, taking off the delinquent herbivores jacket from your shoulders and replacing it with his own disciplinary one, marking his new nap spot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well what did you know, there's a little plot in this story too? <3 Once again thank you so much for all the bookmarks and kudos i'm so glad you guys are enjoying the series and thank you so much for sharing your love for the series it encourages me so much to write more (*⌒▽⌒*)θ～♪


	44. Protection (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tiny bonus chapter with everyones favorite disciplinary chairman~

It’s a power move, you’re sure of it. With a napping Hibari on your shoulder there was no way you can leave, no way you could follow Dino, or get yourself into trouble, or leave his side really. The action almost possessively protective in its confinement.

You turn your head to look over at your sleeping senpai. In the warm tone of the setting sun he almost looks angelic, lips slightly part as soft breaths ease past them. Despite the possessiveness of the situation, there’s something a little comforting about it. Knowing Hibari is comfortable enough to nap with you feels _nice_. It’s not a feeling you’re used to, but it gives off an almost euphoric sense of comfort and safety as you watch his slow steady breaths.  

It’s not long before a third guest joins your little nap pile. She flits down, her soft yellow body landing in Hibari’s hair. You grin and reach your good arm up to pet her. Quietly, so as not to disturb her owner, you greet her. “Hello Hibird.” You whisper, letting her inspect your hand before stroking her head. She chirps delightedly, rubbing her little fluffy head against your thumb. You giggle, the feathers tickling you a little. She rubs her head into Hibaris hair, seemingly encouraging him to join.

“I’m afraid he’s sleeping right now little one.” You tell her, evoking the nickname Hibari so fondly uses. You offer your attention, opening the palm of your hand for her.

“Hibari, Hibari.” She calls. You know how terrible Hibari can be when he’s awoken so you try shhh-ing her gently.

“C’mon now, we can’t wake up Kyouya-Senpai.” You chide softly, having no real interest in disciplining the fluff ball. She looks at you, tilting her head in confusion. “Hibari, we can’t wake Hibari.” You clarify for her. As if in response, she jumps onto your outstretched finger, nuzzling along the knuckle. It’s not hard to see why Hibari is so fond of her, the littlest actions from her fill your heart with warmth. You secretly wonder how many other little pets Hibari has across Namimori.

With your injured hand, you can’t exactly pet her while she sits on your free one. You tell her this and she chirps excitedly. You chuckle and draw her close to your nose, improvising and letting her ruffle against it. “Kisses?” You joke, peering down the end of your nose at the eager bird rubbing her beak against the tip. “Kisses for Hibird, Kisses for Hibird.” She calls, wings flapping excitedly.

 “Do you think Hibari would like kisses?” you chuckle, holding back a sneeze and one of her feathers brushes against your nose

“Kisses for Hibari.” She calls.

You feel your body stiffen as you realise what you’ve said. Silently, you pray to every god you know that this doesn’t become a phrase she repeats. You hold your breath, waiting while Hibird idly prunes her feathers. “Kisses for Hibari, Kisses for Hibari.” She sings again, taking a break from her cleaning.

An internal scream echoes through your body. Was Hibari still asleep? Did he hear?! Your eyes flit to what you can see of Hibaris face as it rests on your shoulder. His eyes are still closed.  You let out a sigh of relief, turning your attention to Hibird. Trying to divert her attention to something else, you talk to her about _anything;_ Disciplinary committee, Kusukabe, students, you even try humming the Namimori anthem, all to no avail.

“Kisses for Hibari.” She calls happily, giving you one last look before flitting out your hand and hovering in front of Hibari’s nose. You see the prefect stir, one eye slowly opening.

“You’ve woken me from my nap.” He tells Hibird sternly.

“Kisses for Hibari, Kisses for Hibari.” Hibird sings, nuzzling her beak against Hibari’s nose.

A soft _hmph_ leaves Hibaris mouth before a hand comes up to support the flapping bird. “How childish.” He remarks. But you note the way he extends out a finger to let Hibird perch as she rubs his nose. It’s an incredibly sweet sight. Your normally battle happy Senpai letting a small animal nestle against him. A soft side that seems to come out so rarely at times you question whether it really exists at all. That _nice_ feeling pours into your mind again as you watch them and a little part of you wants to stay like this forever. Just you, Hibari and Hibird, relaxed and content together.

“Kisses for Hibari, Kisses for Hibari.” Hibird chirps again.

Hibari tilts his head slightly. “Hm, is that not satisfactory?” He asks her flatly, moving Hibird away from his face to give her a displeased look.

You watch as Hibird flaps from Hibaris finger and takes a small section of your hair in her beak, pulling you towards him, until you’re so close your faces are almost touching.

“Kisses for Hibari, Kisses for Hibari!” She chirps proudly, dropping your hair.

Hibari’s eyes are as cold as ever, steel grey and discontent, impossible to decipher. Fear, or something on the other side of the same coin, makes your heart pound in your ears as his eyes meet your sternly. For one all too loud heartbeat you worry he’s going to start a fight, knock you out for teaching Hibird such un-Namimori phrases.

But then his nose touches yours, it’s cold at the tip, enough to make you shiver slightly. Hibari smirks at your reaction as he tilts his head up to nestle his nose next to yours. Your breath catches in your throat as you feel the cool of his skin against yours, intuitively you move your nose to nuzzle his. A few strands of Hibaris dark hair brush against your face but you’re beyond caring.

You feel your eyes close instinctively as his lips slide against yours. They’re unimaginably soft and had you the concentration, you might wonder how someone so rough could be capable of such gentle actions. Your head feels light as one of Hibaris hands comes to hold your chin. He shifts himself up, almost leaning over you and holds you face in place as he bites down on your lower lip.

All too soon, Hibari pulls away. A smug smirk on his face as he turns to Hibird “Satisfied little one?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this mini chapter, something a little fluffy for the reader and Hibari. You can thank Nekumin for their wonderful comment inspiring a little more Hibari love<3


	45. Pride and Punishment (Gokudera,Hibari,Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pride cometh before the fall

A movie was just what you needed. You watch the microwave popcorn spin slowly as kernels pop and spark in the bad.

The idea had been originally just you, Gokudera and some terribly totally-not-illegally-downloaded-if-any-one-asks-we-paid-for-these sci-fi movies. But then Yamamoto had caught wind, and well, Hibari hasn’t exactly left your side since the run in with Dino.

Your train of thought is broken by the loud ping of the microwave and a much larger hand reaching over to open the door and grab the silver bag. “Careful!” You scold Yamamoto, who hasn’t realized the bag is piping hot and begins frantically waving his hand to cool it down. He’s laughing, despite the obvious pain.  
“Sorry, I was just super hungry.” He smiles, still fanning his hand. You roll your eyes and bring out a large enough bowl for the four of you. The smell of the fresh popcorn clouds your nose as Yamamoto opens the bag and, honest to god you could eat the entire packet right there and then by yourself. The only thing stopping you is the sheer height Yamamoto has against you as he scoops up the bowl into the crook of his arm to make for the living room.

“You not coming?” Yamamoto asks the sulking storm guardian as he notices Gokudera still standing in the corner of the kitchen. For a moment the atmosphere feels stiff, as if waiting for Gokuderas reaction.

“He wasn’t even invited.” Gokudera grumbles almost under his breath. You note the folded arms and the almost pouting annoyance on his face. Even after having the cloud guardian follow you for the past few days and basically living in the Vongola base, Gokudera still hadn’t warmed up to him. The death stares and hair trigger tension that seemed to threaten every moment of their interaction hung around the base like an unwelcome visitor. Anything could set them off, Gokudera being too loud, Hibari being too quiet. Either of them getting too close to you also seemed to be a trigger. You reason both are probably concerned the other is going to hurt you in some way, or something. You hadn’t quite worked out why, even when Gokudera was doing peaceful things like reading with you, Hibari felt the need to attack. You shake your head of the tangled train of thought and check back in with the conversation.

Yamamoto lets out a light hearted sigh and rubs the back of his head. “Maybe a movie night will bring you two closer?”

That gets the storm guardian even more annoyed, giving Yamamoto several very loud and very aggressively proposed ways he and Hibari could get closer. The first is a stick of dynamite shoved up a very intimate part and the last is a marooned on a desert island situation where Gokudera resorts to cannibalism and by all definitions of the word, becomes _closer_  to the guardian visa vie chewing his leg.

You let out a loud sigh and shove the popcorn bowl from Yamamoto’s hands into Gokuderas. “Just try to get along tonight, please?” You ask him, giving him the best puppy eyes you can manage. Failing that, you weren’t too proud to pull out the -you-did-technically-break-my-arm-and-owe-me-until-it’s-healed card.

Luckily, the puppy eyes work and Gokudera follows you to the living room without too much of a fuss. The atmosphere still feels heavy when you sit down on the plush brown sofa. Yamamoto takes one side and Gokudera takes the other. Or rather, Gokudera sits at the furthest away section of the sofa and pointedly shoves the popcorn bowl between the two of you and glaring at Hibari, possibly challenging him to find a reason to attack. The prefect side eyes the seating situation from his position leant against the wall and doesn’t stir, which is a breath of relief on your part.

The movie is terrible, all low budget special effects and painfully obvious home made monster costumes, but it’s fun. You and Yamamoto laugh and jokingly scream at all the strangely contrived monster scares. Though Gokudera is keeping his distance and eye glued to the screen, he manages a few off-handed sentences about the realism of the Loch Ness monster joining forces with Bigfoot to fight evil.

For almost an hour, it’s peaceful. Even if it’s obvious Hibari has no interest in such movies, everyone gets along in their own way. The Vongola was a strange family, but times like this it almost seemed to work.

That peace shatters when Gokudera yawns and stretches. His arm momentarily grazing the back of your neck. In the same instance Hibari reaches over and knocks his arm back with a quick swipe of his tonfa. Gokudera shirks his arm back and glares at Hibari. “Oi bastard, watch it!” He bites.

Hibari doesn’t say anything but keeps his glare pinned to Gokudera. Neither moves, but Gokuderas eyes narrow and his brow twitches. You look over at Yamamoto, who’s eyes are still glued to the screen. The moment you look back you see Hibari move to stand over Gokudera, staring him down.

“Ciaosuu” A recognisable voice breaks the tension. Reborn appearing from behind the TV riding a elevator that seems to start and end nowhere except for the space it occupies. The tension pauses as Hibari and Gokudera turn to acknowledge Reborn.

“It’s the baby!” Yamamoto smiles, seemingly having missed the small turf war between his fellow guardians.

Reborn states he has some news on your sister and everything falls away. You ask everyone to leave, barely registering anything else. This could be important.

Once the door closes, Reborn descends from the tv and stands himself on the coffee table in front of you. “I’m afraid it’s nothing solid.” He states bluntly, not dragging out the bad news, a trait you appreciated in him. “But we have a potential lead in Spain, a small family claim they spotted someone similar to your sister in the west coast. They don’t have any photographs or documentation on it, just word from one of their subordinates” He delivers the news flatly. You know from his tone, and the way his eyes linger on your sling, that he doesn’t think this barebones information is worth the risk.

You look at the floor, searching for what to do in the ornate detailing of the living room rug. It’s a hard choice, in your injured state an unnecessary trip isn’t advised, and if the family is lying and setting some kind of trap you’d be screwed without back up. You clench your good hand tightly and curse the unfairness of your situation. Gokudera and Hibari’s faces flash before you and the anger you feel spreads over to them. The fighting, the irritableness of both of them, they were to blame for this. Because of them you were stuck here and unable to search for your sister. Before you have a chance to open your mouth, a loud explosion breaks through the living room wall and floods the room with a flash of burning heat.

You look up, through the hole you can see the three guardians. Gokuderas eyes wide with surprise, Hibari stopped mid hit to look back, and Yamamoto with his hands up and mouth open.  
In the same second you acknowledge them, anger bubbles over and you grab your staff. Snapping it in half you throw both pieces powerfully to nail each guardian to the wall.

“This stops here.” You growl as you vault through the hole to the hall way. Both guardians look surprised at the sudden change in your tone. Another time you might have pulled back. But not today. Fury lines your words as you tell them both to stop their childish fighting, neither of them are going to hurt you and blowing up Vongola property is no way to act like a mafiaso.

You’re half way through threatening to knock them both out, photograph them in compromising position, and then send said pictures out to the highest ranking mafia boss’s in Japan , when you feel Reborn on your shoulder.

“You’re paying for that.” He says.

No-one responds. Only when you turn your head, do you realise he’s talking to you and not Hibari or Gokudera. You take a moment, clarifying that it wasn’t you who broke the wall. “Why do you think they’re fighting in the first place?” Reborn asks, voice rhetorical as he jumps to Gokudera’s shoulder from yours.

Neither Gokudera or Hibari make eye contact, but if Reborn is implying what you think he’s implying then you’ve got a whole other reason to be mad at them. “This ends here.” You warn both of them, walking off down the long corridor to the stairs. You don’t want to look at either of them right now.

Half way up the stairs to your room you realise you can hear Yamamoto talking. His usual light hearted tone is replaced with something more powerful and stern.

“You think this fighting is helping? If you really cared about her you’d focus on helping her get better, not trying to beat each other.” The rain guardian says. It’s followed by a long silence, then ever so faintly, “I’ve got more important things to do than crowd with herbivores.” As the sound of the front door opening and closing echos down the hallway.

“Bastard.” An equally as annoyed voice calls before footsteps draw closer. You brace yourself for Gokudera, but to your surprise it’s Yamamoto who’s face appears at the corner of the stairs. He’s got a nervous almost apologetic smile on his face and the two sections of your staff in his hand. 

“ I think you left these.” He says, being careful to establish eye contact, assessing the situation carefully from behind a gentle smile. 

You thank him, letting the two magnets that go with the collapsing mechanism of your staff click back into place to make one, complete weapon. You smirk at Yamamotos bewilderment. 

“Old magicians trick.” You tell him. He laughs whole heartedly, a laugh that seems to ease the anger you’d felt as it graces your ears. 

Yamamoto escorts you upstairs, joking about how much you scared Gokudera and Hibari. Despite his jokes, you have a feeling the next few days are going to be incredibly awkward. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uwuuuuuuu Things are getting a little intense between Hibari and Gokudera right? Poor Yammaoto TT_TT Poor vongola base wall TT_TT I hope you guys liked this chapter, and the whole chapter-being-linked around one thing rather than just fluffy semi-one shots. I wrote the final chapters for this story this week as well and oh boi i'm so sad this is gonna end, but not for a little while don't worry, we still have some SUMMER chapters i just know you're gonna love~ <3 Again thank you so much for the kudos and bookmarks it makes me so happy to see and gives me such inspiration to work on this (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧


	46. Soak It Up (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bubbles abound

Yamamoto found joy in the tiniest things. A warm day, friendships, the clean strike of a home run with a row of loaded bases. There was very little that didn’t make him smile. 

He smiles as he watches you examining the damage to the living room wall, his head rested on top of yours. After all the drama, he’s incredibly glad you chose to spend the rest of the evening with him. Above all, he values being your friend.

He picks your brain, chuckling and asking if you think some you can glue it back together. You shake your head and turn round to face him, rubbing the bridge of your nose and casting doubt on his suggestion. 

He just laughs and wraps an arm around your waist, using it turn to you to face the wall again. “ I think it looks good like that!” He grins, sticking his hand through the crumbling hole. “Easy access!”  
You roll your eyes and begin inspecting the wall, rubbing a finger over the exploded edge. You mumble something about it being an expensive fix and Yamamoto can see you’re a bit overhlmened by the number you’ve come up with in your head.

 “What if we fix it?” He offers, how hard could patching up a wall be?

You shake your head again. You explain if you try and involve the Vonagola, Reborn will likely find a way to veto that. You’d damaged Vongola property before and Reborn hasn’t brought up the agreement. Being held response this time, is a tactical move. You weren’t stupid, you knew if Reborn just wanted a stand in for snow guardian there were others he could have chosen until your sister was found. This was about your contacts, Reborn wanted to see _how_  you fixed the wall. Did you call in a favour from someone, do you pick up a job to pay for it? Less about the wall getting fixed, and more seeing how you operate sans the Vongola.  
You stop yourself, suddenly pulling your hand away from the wall, regret heavy on your face.

“Forget I said anything, okay?” You turn to look at Yamamoto, face serious as you wait for his reply.  
He nods and gives you a wry smile. “What were you talking about?” He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck.  
You nod and mumble something about him being too easy to talk to. 

Yamamoto grins Then an idea pops into his head. “What if we use sushi rice to fix it?” He asks. “ my dad puts something in his rice that makes it stick together, that could fix the wall!”

You look at him like he’s got two heads and Yamamoto can only laugh as he miles plastering sushi onto the wall. It gets a laugh, and Yamamoto continues. He tells you every idea that comes into his head: super glue, getting Leon to shapshift into one massive brick, using Lambos bazooka to time travel to the future and steal the wall from the TYL Vongola base. You can only pretend to be annoyed for so long before you’re laughing and telling him just how ridculous his ideas are. Yamamoto knows, but it’s worth sounding like an idiot if it makes you smile. Dismissing his ideas takes your mind off the mafia game and Gives him a great excuse to make you smile. 

 

Yamamoto sighs contentedly as he rests his forearms on the side of the bath, watching you struggle stubbornly to open the shampoo bottle with one hand. As much as it had been an act of trust to admit you needed help washing with one arm, you were still rigorously trying to do everything yourself. He chuckles, and gently takes the bottle from your hand, holding one end so you can twist off the cap.  
You huff and mutter a thank you under your breath. Yamamoto grins to himself, thinking how cute you are, even like this. He picks up the plastic jug from the bathroom floor and scoops up enough water to wet your hair. Your good hand comes up to shield your eyes and Yamamoto can see you flinch at the sound of the jug breaking the surface of the water.

  
He’s careful with the first pour, encouraging you to tilt your head back with one hand carefully supporting your chin. Even with the warm bath water, your skin is just a few degrees cooler than his. A temperature Yamamoto could recognise anywhere, and quietly savoured as intimately yours.  
The routine works well, you insists on applying the shampoo and conditioner yourself but he gets to help washing it out. You laugh slightly as he pours another jug of warm water over your head, stating how this whole situation is a little weird.

Yamamoto chuckles letting one hand swirls the half bubbled suds in the water. “Didn’t you parents ever do this when you were little?” he asks.

  
You pause mid way through tugging up the bathing suit you’d worn for privacy’s sake, caught in thought before shaking your head. You admit quietly that you never really knew your parents, it had always been you and your sister. Yamamoto watches as your face changes, slowly slipping into a sad distant gaze as you stare at the disappearing bubbles in the water.

“I never really knew my mum either.” He says, without realising. You look up at him, a mix of confusion and intrigue. Carefully, Yamamoto lets a small smile curl across his face, empathic and understanding.  
You avert your gaze, as if avoiding looking at him shields you a little from the vulnerability you’ve displayed.

You explain your sister never told you anything about your parents, and sometimes that made you sad.  
Yamamoto nods, knowing how difficult it is for you to open up, he wants his next words to be right.

“I think it’s their way of protecting us right?” He ventures. “like we can’t miss them if we can’t remember anything about them?” He says, forwarding a guess as he recalls the pictures his dad had taken down once his mother passed. The only proof they were ever there being the slightly more vibrant spot on the mantel piece, wood yet untouched by the suns strong rays.

You nod slowly, a soft “I guess.” On your lips as you use your free hand to disturb the water in front of you in circles. Yamamoto studies your face, just behind the blank far off stare there’s sadness. Sadness he recognised in his dad whenever a particular date comes around, sadness he caught in himself a long time ago. He knows that sadness and he knows right now what you need more than anything, is a hug.  
You quickly snap yourself out of it, mentioning something about the living room wall but Yamamoto not convinced.

He drops the jug in the water without a second thought and pulls you in close to him, archibg over the side of the bath. Both his arms lock around yours and he settles your wet head under his chin.  
You don’t respond, but he feels your breath against his neck slow. A wet hand slinks over his back and clings to his shirt.  
“It’s okay to be sad.” Yamamoto tells you, wanting more than anything to give you a sense of comfort in your pain. 

Yamamoto stays like that until you let go, being your rock, or your tree or whatever it was people described support as. You don’t move for a long time, you don’t cry either but Yamamoto knows that’s rare for you. The silence and your strong grip on his shirt speaks for itself. He hates seeing you sad, and he wants you to know he’s here for you, whenever you need him. 

After some unknown amount of time, you let go of him.

“Yamamoto-kun?” You ask, quietly.  
He gives you a soft hum, reassuring you he’s listening.  
“ You’re gonna be soaking if you stay like this.” You tell him.

He lets out an idle chuckle as he unwraps his arms and peels off his shirt. “Better?” He asks. You let out a put on sigh and stand up, swiping a towel off the towel rack. To his surprise you don’t dry yourself down, but use your good arm to haul him up, and begin towelling off his neck and the spot of his arms that got wet.

  
“You really are an idiot Yamamoto-kun” You tell him, rubbing the warm towel across his shoulders. He just grins, taking the towel from your hands and pulling you close again. 

“I’ll be your idiot” he whispers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was written on my phone TT_TT my laptop is in for repairs so I apologise greatly for spelling errors and the sort of choppy Mash of two scenes. I have a plan for the story but of course, it’s all on my laptop. In better news though we finally got a Yamamoto chapter! He’s such a precious boy (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	47. Aglio e Olio (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologises in edible form

Gokudera has no idea why he felt the need to do this. He is by no means a cook. A fighter, yes. A right hand man to the most dangerous and fearsome mafia boss in japan, yes. But a cook? No way. The thing was, he’d noticed you hadn’t eaten anything decent in a few days- unable to cook for yourself with your recent injury and staying mostly in your room - and he couldn’t just tell you to eat. After everything that had happened with the living room wall, and you telling him and the bastard prefect exactly where they could take their affections for you, the last thing Gokudera wanted was the create any more conflict. He also knew you'd hate anything that could be considered a favour owed. But if he just happened to cook something, and just so happened to make too much it would be feasible to leave some for you; with a note or some shit so that stupid baseball freak didn’t eat it instead. There was no way you could shout at him for that, or turn it into an argument.

Gokudera becomes vaguely aware of a burning smell piping from the oven behind him. Grabbing the oven mitts, he manages to yank the tray through the cloud of smoke pilling out the oven door. It’s ruined, the top of the fish burnt to a crisp as the oil he’d placed on top sizzles and spits at him, burning his hand. He lets out a loud cry of “Cazzo!” before he even has a chance to think about running it under cold water, the fire alarm goes off.

The storm guardian curses in every Italian phrase he knows and waves a dish towel under the fire alarm in an attempt to stop the infernal fucking noise. His hand aches against the movements. And of course, you’re there in an instant. Adrenaline running through your body as you clock the situation. Opening every window in the kitchen, climbing on the counter next to him and pressing the big red button on the smoke alarm. There’s an annoying smirk on your face as the noise stops and you slide back down. “And you laughed at the idea of me being a maid.”

He grumbles at that, unable to think of a witty retort with his hand still in pain. “What were you even doing in here Gokudera-kun?” You chuckle as he looks over at the ruined fish, only now realising the rice pot is overflowing and bubbling off its lid. He can’t hold back another aggressive swear.

Your hand reaches over his as you remove the pot from the stove, turning off the heat. Gokudera can’t help but think this was a stupid idea. Now you’re here fixing his mess and he looks like an idiot who can’t even cook rice.

You’re still waiting for a response when he looks back at you. “Cucinare, che aspetto ha?!” he shouts bitterly nursing his hand. “Honestly, it looks like you were trying to destroy the Vongola kitchen.” You laugh at him, grabbing a cloth and mopping at the stove. “Does terrible cooking run in the family?” you jibe playfully.

“Rompicoglioni.” Gokudera responds, annoyed that his gesture has turned sour so quickly. “Non essere così significare” You reply, giving his shoulder a light-hearted shove. Suddenly Gokudera realises he’s still speaking Italian, and you’re speaking back to him. He turns to stare at you. When the fuck did you learn Italian?!

You chuck out the rice and turn your attention to the fish like it’s nothing out of the ordinary, like speaking Italian is just something that’s a normal everyday occurrence between the two of you. The longer you carry on silently fiddling with pots and pans, the more frustrated Gokudera gets. Eventually, unable to stand the silence between the two of you, he breaks. “When the fuck did you learn Italian?!” He manages, glaring at you.

For some reason, his question is funny to you. Gokudera can hear a loud laugh as you snap sphagetti he didn’t know the Vongola kitchen had, into a pan. “You ever tried being in the mafia and not knowing Italian?” You respond. It’s a fair point, but why the fuck hadn’t you told him?

“Didn’t seem like much of a point, nobody else here speaks it and you seemed pretty happy with Japanese.” You shrug m, tilting the pan in your hand and squeezing in some lemon. All this time, all this fucking time Gokudera could’ve been speaking to you in his native language? Instead of listening to you stumble and trip over Japanese grammar and phrases. He’s ready to shout at you, words primed and ready to berate you for being so ignorant.

But then you shove a bowl into his hand and a very old looking fork into the other. Wordlessly you carry your own bowl through to the living room and switch back on whatever rubbish you were watching. Gokudera follows you, unable to disarm the words in the back of his mouth but already feeling the anger behind them fading. He finally gives in when he looks at the bowl in his hand. It’s spaghetti, like you’re just rubbing the italian thing in his face. It’s even harder to be mad when he sits down next to you – making sure not to actually get close mind you- but next to all the same. You don’t say anything, no bragging, no taunting, you just let him sit while you both eat.

Gokudera can’t really keep his eyes of you. Because he knows he’s eating something you made for him. He watches you as you watch the TV, seemingly so content to continue to conversation in a different language. Were you Italian? Was it your native language? Did you know other languages? Thousands of questions fly through his brain, but one fact stands true, a harsh reminder to himself, he doesn't know you. For all the fawning and attraction and time spent together, at the end of the day, you were still a mystery to him. Gokudera tries not to let it get to him as he settles on the sofa. He tells himself it's fine that he doesn't really know you, because you're not interested in him, and that was a healthy distance to keep between two not-interested-in-each-other mafiso. There were a lot of things about him that you probably didn't know too, and that was fine.

 

Gokudera fully blames the baseball freak for your behaviour, half way through the trash movie you were watching, you edged closer to him, experimentally resting your shoulder against his. And he hadn’t complained. He’d kept his mouth shut.

And then at some point, you fell asleep on top of him. Fully knocked out, wouldn't wake up if an earthquake siren blasted right in your ear asleep. Gokudera could move you. He could easily shift you off, shout at you for being so casual with him. But he liked it, hell he's the one who'd shuffled further down the couch as you'd fallen deeper into sleep, allowing your body to lie on-top of his as you slid closer. The deep pressure of you on top of him feels like it’s pressing out all the pent-up stress that has built up inside over the past few months. The sleepy way your free arm cradles around his head. The gentle play of your breath against his neck as you bury your face in the crook of his shoulder.

Gokudera feels an undeniable sense of safety with you. He tries, but loses the battle with himself and wraps his arms around your body, keeping you close to him. Letting himself embrace the feeling of you against him. He closes his eyes and accepts the feeling of his heart thudding against his chest. Simply holding you gives him this almost tangible content satisfaction. With his arms around you it’s like he’s protecting you, shielding you from everything. You feel like home.

A part of him wishes he could hold you like this all the time. That he could come back to you and embrace you like this, hold you so close, plant kisses over your head and face until you begged him to stop. But that wasn’t what he was to you, you'd made that clear. He was a hot headed mess of a human who'd got your arm broken by his own selfishness and made things worse by letting his anger run free with Hibari. He was the worst, no wonder you didn't think of him like that.

Gokudera takes a deep breath, and makes a decision. He’s going to get over you. Whatever it took, he would get rid of these mushy confusing feelings, and treat you as the fellow guardian you were. It’s the only solution, to keep you safe, to stop himself from spiralling further, to keep his focus on being Judiames perfect right hand man.

Gokuderas eye’s flit to you sleeping face.  It almost too nice, the temptation to stay like this, but he’s made a choice. As smoothly as possible, he pulls himself out from under you, replacing himself with two well placed pillows. He stands there for a moment, like the love struck idiot he is, and watches your face turn to discontent as you shuffle around the soft replacements. You’re still asleep, but the peaceful look has disappeared. Gokduera bites his tongue, scolds himself for even bothering to care so much, and denies himself another look before he closes the living room door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ya girl still doens't have a laptop but that’s not gonna stop me! I mean otherwie what would i do with all thiss angsty/fluff ψ(｀∇´)ψ  
> A massive and all encompassing thank you to some wonderful people who’ve been leaving comments and kudos and bookmarking the fic, ya’ll have no idea ho rewarding it is to know you guys enjoy it, thank you so much! Your enthusiasm fuels me so much <3
> 
> Gokudera making the choice to put his feelings aside for the reader character and the family seemed like the most in character thing. As much of a wreck dynamite bby is he values Tsuna and the Vongola over everything, we’ll see how successful that is in the next few chapters tho ;)


	48. Girls Choice Dance (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the running

“Yamamoto-kun!” A familiar voice glides past his ears. Yamamoto can’t stop the smile on his face spreading as he turns to greet you, arms open for your usual hug. “Angel-chan!” he laughs. The feel of your body against his is so nice he can’t resist holding onto you for just a little longer than necessary. Letting the smell of you surround him.

“I’m glad I caught you! Are you just out from baseball?” You ask.

He manages the small hum of a positive before letting you go. “What can I help you with? Do you need someone to walk you home?” _Please let him walk you home, he’d so love to walk you home_.

“No, no it uh . . .actually something a little more . . . personal.” You say, and Yamamoto clocks the shift in your body language. He decides walking together might make things a little easier for you, rather than standing face to face in the middle of the path. He has to walk a little slower so you can keep up, but he doesn’t mind. You're quiet for a moment but Yamamoto understands that silence with you is an okay thing, something he got used to the more he knew you. As a friendly gesture he slips his arm around your shoulder, making sure to keep your injured arm against him. Your free hand comes up to play with his almost absentmindedly as it rests around your collar bone. He watches in amusement as you tap and trail fingers across the back of his palm, adorably lost in thought.

Yamamoto lets the pleasant silence settle while you collect your thoughts, admiring the way you look when your brain is ticking over an idea. He wonders for a moment if you’re wanting to talk about Gokudera or Hibari, but decides to wait. “It’s about the end of school dance. . .It’s girl’s choice this time, right?” You say finally.

Yamamotos heart skips a beat. You’re absolutely right, this time it was the girls who asked someone to the dance. Girls like you. Asking someone’s like him. He tries not to get his hopes up but that sweet warm feeling is already taking over his head.

“Uh it’s a little awkward but I was . . . I was kind of wondering. . .” You pause, leaving an aching silence in your wake as your hand leaves his. Yamamoto desperately wants to fill the quiet, to confirm his anticipation as the smile spreads across his face, but he waits, holding in the bursting feeling of joy. Over the few months you’d been doing so well to relax and embrace all the regular high school things you missed out on while you were playing the mafia game, Yamamoto knows how important it would be to you that you asked him properly. _“_ You probably get asked a lot you know and. I mean it’s silly really I just . . . wanted to ask you-“

“Yes!” It comes out before Yamamoto can really think about it. One fast blur of noise from his mouth, but your face isn’t right. You look confused, not happy.

Then you’re laughing, nudging his side playfully with your cast arm. “Yamamoto-kun you can’t just go around saying yes to things when you don’t even know what’s being asked.” You say, rolling your eyes. “I was gonna ask since you get asked so much. How exactly you’re supposed to go about it . . . the whole-” You wave your hands vaguely in front of you. “. . . asking thing.”

Yamamoto can’t help his heart sinking ever so slightly at your words. It wasn’t him you wanted to take. It was someone else. Maybe Gokudera, or Hibari? He could still salvage this. Even if you didn’t want to take him, he could still help you. An excuse to spend time with you was always welcome, you are his friend after all, friends help each other. "Sorry." He laughs, playfully reaching his hand down to tickle under your good arm. "I guess i just got carried away!" He says as he watches your face crease up, dispelling any awkward tension that may have arisen from his assumption. It's not until your breathless from sharp laughter and cries of how unfair his sudden attack is, that Yamamoto relinquishes you.

It only works as a distraction for a moment before Yamamoto notices you're looking at him expectantly and rubs the back of his neck. “Oh right yeah! Well, a good idea is to know the person you’re asking. Do you know who you’re gonna ask?” Yamamoto queries, sincerely hopes he’s not being obvious. Whoever you’d chosen would be lucky. Half of him didn’t want to know, to go down the road of comparing himself to another. But another half was _dying_ to know who this person could be.

Your eyes move away from his face, fingers intertwining and moving over each other nervously as you continue walking. In an act of support Yamamoto places his hand over yours, reminding you he's here to help. the idea that it's almost like holding hands flashes through his mind and makes him joyfully giddy as he swings your hand while you walk. “You see uh . . .that’s another problem I’m having. But I figured at least if I know how to ask, when I find someone I’ll be prepared.” You say, finding the courage to look him inhe eye and smile.

Yamamoto can’t fault that logic, being prepared was half the battle in anything. He smiles back, letting you in on this thought process. “Exactly!” You reply now a little excited. “So, how do I go about it?”

Yamamoto clasps his free hand around the back of his neck letting out a long breath followed by a laugh. “I think you just ask.” He says as he grins at you, giving your hand a quick squeeze.

This answer doesn’t please you. “C’mon Yamamoto-kun, you get asked _all_ the time. Do people just walk up to you? Do they give you a gift? A card? Is there some kind of code?” You ask.

Yamamoto laughs at that, unable to find the idea of you treating a simple invitation like a mafia exchange anything but amusing. You stop, turning to face him as you arrive at the Vongola door. “How did you ask Hana-chan to the dance last time? Did you do anything special?” You continue. Yamamoto leans against the door frame, admiring the way you look up to him, even from the step into the house. He takes a moment to look at you, really look at you, to capture the emotions in those gorgeous eyes. He could get lost in them, and almost does as you repeat the question, waving a hand in front of him.

Yamamoto laughs at himself, then takes a moment to think, tapping his chin. “Well Ryohei-senpai wanted to go with Kyoko-chan, so he thought it would be best for me to take Hana-chan, since Tsuna was taking Kyoko-chan and he was taking Haru-chan. Wait, or was it Tsuna who took Haru-chan?” He counts the people on his fingers, connecting links as he speaks bouncing from name to name, he scratches his head trying to remember just who had taken who.

You chuckle and roll your eyes at him as Yamamoto opens the front door, leading you in. “So . . .what you're saying is I should ask my senpai who to go with?” You ask, seemingly getting something out of his confusing explanation. Yamamoto thinks about this for a moment. If he agrees, there’s was a good chance you’d ask Ryohei, and with Ryohei being his senpai too ,that meant there’s a good chance that Ryohei would want Kyoko-chan to go, so Tsuna would take Hana-chan and then Haru-chan would take Kyoko-chan an-- he runs out of fingers as he tries to figure out how that would work. He knows on some level asking Ryohei is a good idea, and honestly that's enough detail for him.

Yamamoto nods enthusiastically. “Yeah, Senpai’s always know best!” He says. You smile at him, happy with the conclusion of the conversation. That lovely heart melting smile that he can’t help but return as you head into your room. He could hardly wait to see it on you when he asks you to the dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for you patient waiting for this upload <3 Yamamoto is such a wholesome boy, he just wants you to be happy even if it's not with him TT_TT Anyway i hope you enjoyed, this arc is super fun to write - even if Yamamoto isn't getting as much love as he deserves,but maybe i'll fix that in the summer chapters ;D ) As usual thank you so much for all the kudos and bookmarks, you guys are awesome (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	49. Senpai's Choice (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crowds

You’d been uncomfortable all evening. Shifting repeatedly in your usual spot on the disciplinary’s room sofa. It got to the point that it distracted Hibari from his own work, and that was annoying.

“What are you doing little animal?” He says, breaking the silence.

You flinch, but don’t say anything. Hibari withholds the urge to kick you out, rising from the chair behind his desk and walking over to you instead. He rests a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to settle you constant fidgeting.

“I wanted to ask you something. . . with regards to the girls choice dance.” You say, not making eye contact. But Hibari senses the hesitation in your voice. He knows where this was going. Loud noises, reckless behavior, crowds. _Crowds_. His grip tightens on your shoulder in anger.

Hibari can’t help but feel offended you would even think to ask him to something so stupid, so obviously against his interests. It was probably his fault for kissing you, but then how could he have known you’d get so blinded by your affections for him you’d think a dance was a good idea. Perhaps you were just trying to find an excuse to be close to him. Which was incredibly juvenile, if you wanted to be close with him you could offer to do more disciplinary work.

“No.” He says bluntly, removing his hand from your shoulder and already preparing to return to his work.

You tilt your head back to look at him, a puzzled look on your face. “No?” you ask. Hibari immediately recognises he’s got the wrong end of the stick but feels too stubborn to correct the situation, instead opting to let you explain yourself by letting the silence hang.

“Kyouya-senpai, I know you’re not going. You hate crowds. But I was going to ask, since apparently senpais are the go-to for this sort of thing, who _I_ should ask?” There’s a directness in your tone as you turn fully in your seat to face him. You shouldn’t concern yourself with things like dances. Why dance when you could be doing disciplinary work or reading with him? That was a much better use of your time.

He moves to return to his desk. “Don’t ask anyone, you’ll be needed to make sure the event stays under control.” _That should be the end of that._

“Actually, Kusakabe-kun said he would step in if I found someone to go with.” You say, an apologetic smile on your face as you do.

Hibari resists the urge to flip his desk over and instead put his energy into reasoning you out of your little dance escapade. He could bite Kusukabe to death for his insolence _._ Had you orchestrated this whole thing? Did you want to go to the dance this badly? He would have fought you there and then, pulled out his tonfas and went at it until you were too tired to protest against him. But then his eyes settle on your arm - still cast and healing- and a sour emotion rises, twisting his gut, making his stomach feel . . . wrong.

Hibari is close to changing his mind, but then he remembers. That delinquent herbivore. His body leaning over you, his lips clinging to yours, the reason your arm is broken in the first place. He can’t let that happen again, wouldn’t give the greedy herbivore the opportunity to abuse you in such a vulnerable position. The dance would be a perfect opportunity for a weak minded herbivore to manipulate you into _things_. The lights, the music, the slow dancing students used as an excuse to touch. Those were things you should be asking your senpai to do with you ~~and he should be turning you down and making you beg for it until you truly appreciated his attention~~ . Not forcefully shoved against the wall of some dark cupboard with-

Hibaris hand curls around the handle of his tonfa, practicing the elevated level of self-control he prides himself on. He would drop the conversation, for now. But one way or another he’d stop you from going to that stupid dance.

 

The morning of the dance, Hibari walks authoritatively into your class. He notes with pride how the little crowd of herbivores around you stop talking as they acknowledge his presence. Several look concerned, but he ignores that. He hands you the list of jobs, making eye contact with only you.  “To be done after school.” He tells you before turning and walking out the classroom without a further word. He hears the disappointed sigh on your lips and the comforting words the crowding herbivores give. It brings him no joy, but it's for your own good.

It’s not until much later that he hears the backlash to his actions. Two of the herbivores you hang around with arguing in the corridor long after they should have vacated school grounds.

“Bastards overstepping his line.” One grumbles. The other herbivore lets out a slight laugh and says something Hibari can’t quite hear.

“If he wants a fight, I'll fucking give it to him.” The herbivore shouts, and Hibari’s hand brush over his tonfas, ready.

“Ma, it is a shame, Angel-chan had been really excited. Hey! Maybe we could bring the dance to her.” The other herbivore suggests.

”What the fuck are you on about baseballl idiot?” The herbivore seethes.  ”Hibari’s the one to blame for this, abusing his position as the stupid prefect.”

”Come on Gokudra-kun, getting mad won’t solve anything. We can’t have another hole blow into a wall.” A herbivore jokes.

“Whatever.” Comes a rough grumble from the other side of the wall, and Hibari readies his weapon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for making you wait, it's been a busy week (・・；) I might release a couple of chapters over the next few days because i'm so hyped for the next upcoming arc and y'all have been so wonderful <3 How stubborn is Hibari tho?! He's exactly the kind of guy who wants to be asked to a dance, just so he can turn you down (；´瓜｀) He's just trying to protect you tho, even if it comes through in a really standoffish/punishing way TT_TT


	50. Recompense (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forward, back, side

Hibari had instructed you to clean the gym hall after the dance, and it was probably one of the most depressing duties you’d ever done. Everything was all set up, balloons, banners, lights, food music ,drink. Everything you’d wanted to experience before the summer.

It’s quiet at least, the only sound being the harsh click of you school regulation shoes across the almost perfectly polished wooden floor. You let out a deep sigh as you finish cleaning another section of the floor. Of all the punishments Hibari has dished out, this was one of the more tedious.

As if hearing your internal thoughts, the prefect appears in the entrance way, leaning against the door frame. You know better than to call out to him, most likely he is simply checking in on you. You try not to let the bitterness on your face show. You’d been incredibly excited about the dance, your senpai knew that. But here you were carrying out a ridiculous set of chores set by him _specifically_ so you’d miss it. Perhaps it was some kind of punishment, a cruel pointless punishment that he’d come to watch you suffer out.

The sound of his shoes clicking against the wooden floor alerts you to the movements. Out of the corner of your eye you watch the mysterious cloud guardian walk onto the stage and head behind one of the long blue _Namimori_ engraved curtains. He’s there for a while, long enough for you to conclude that what he’s doing doesn’t concern you. Not that it ever concerns you, Hibari being more private than a socially disgusted recluse.

You move onto another section of wooden slates and put Hibari’s behaviour to the back of your mind. You have a long night ahead and day dreaming won’t help. You catch your reflection in the polish of the floor and frown.

Without warning, the lights in the gym hall click off. The sudden change in lighting sends a jolt of adrenaline through your body, and you drop the cloth in place of grabbing your weapon, and try frantically to force your eyes to adjust to the dark.

Steps echo across the dark hall, you prepare yourself for a fight. As if on cue, several coloured lights spread across the gym hall, music from the speakers fills the room. It’s a slow song, delicate and beautiful, unlike the pop songs you’re sure are queued for the night.

Through the turn of lights you make out Hibari walking towards you , movements slow and powerful as he takes his time. As a purple light shines over his body, creating an iridescent halo, you note the slight slip of a smirk on his usually cold face. Your senpais hand reaches out, firmly pushing your weapon back into its holster. You look up at him, unsure what he’s telling you in the mix of slow music and hard stares.

Hibaris hand twist to catch your wrist, bringing it up to rest your palm on the broad of his shoulder. You don’t resist, knowing better than to attempt or ask questions. He seems pleased with your compliance and takes your still cast hand carefully in his. He moves his foot forward, and you’re too slow with your response.

“You wanted to dance, didn’t you.” The prefect states in an accusing tone. As though you somehow dragged him into this situation.

You nod slowly, being careful not to piss him off too much as you submit to his movements. Hibari keeps a respectable distance between the two of you, an almost stoic aura exudes from your senpai as he leads you in a delicate triage of steps. He doesn’t formally ask you to dance, instead assuming his direct position as lead. It’s a simple movement but there’s no room to falter as he guides you around the room; _forward, side, back_

You keep up, acknowledging the cloud guardian is deliberately keeping the pace slower than the music to allow you time to become acquainted with the rhythm. It gives you time to think. Like the time you’d spent together at the hot springs, this gesture runs a line. It’s hard to tell with Hibari, how much of what he does is for his own enjoyment, and how much is not. He could be cruel, so recklessly aggressive and cold. But he could be kind, thoughtful and quietly selfless when he wanted. You can’t ever figure it out. As you notice the tension in your shoulders melt with the fleeting touch of his chest against yours as you move around the dancefloor, you wonder if he knows what he does to you? Coloured lights slide and mix across one side of his face as you turn across the dancefloor.  _Forward_. His uncompromising stare meeting your quiet compliant look. _Side._ You can almost see him relax as you start to fall into his rhythm. _Back._

His eyes are a hard mix of steel and lilac, something about them makes it hard to look away.  _Forward._ The more you stare, the harder it becomes to define where the two meet. _Side_ The soft welcoming lilac blurring into hard cold steel. _Back._

The longer you look, the colder they become. _Forward_. Until you’re sure Hibari is glaring you down. _Side._ You look away, and swallow dryly. _Back_.

“What are you thinking little animal?” Hibari asks, in a familiarly commanding voice as the rhythm picks up. _Forward._

You don’t know how to answer. _Side._ Could you tell him? _Back_. How his eyes captivated you? How they seemed to mirror the mystery of the Vongola cloud guardian.

“I . . .” Your voice trails off. _Forward._

“What colour are your eyes?” You manage. _Side._

His face doesn’t change but there’s a flicker of curiosity behind that controlled mask. _Back._

“What colour do you see when you look at them?” He replies flatly. _Forward._ Feigning disinterest in the answer, but still bothering to ask all the same. _Side._ You take a moment to gather your thoughts. _Back._

Boldly, you tell him. _Forward._ You don’t know. _Side_. But somewhere in between the lilac and steel. _Back_. There’s a blurred line of cold and warm. _Forward._ It’s impossible to tell where one ends, and the other begins. _Side._ Soft melding into tough. _Back_. Like him, there’s no way to define which is more dominant.

You push your foot to step forward, but Hibari hasn’t moved. His motion stopped mid way. The arm that had been placed so properly on the side of your waist moves to completely encircle you, pressing you to his chest. Hibari’s hand slips out from yours and tilts your chin up to meet his gaze.

“What colour do you see now?” He asks, almost smugly as you feel the blood rush to your cheeks. Your question answered, Hibari knew exactly what he did to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought perhaps the last chapter was a little short so here's a teeny tinnnnnyyy bonus chapter that was totally inspired by "dance to this" becasue it's such a cute song and despite all Hibari stand offish complaints about herbivores and crowds and i-do-what-i-want-attitude sometimes, SOMETIMES he can do things for others and it's super dorable and lil grumpy face needs to show that more often


	51. You Shall Go to the Dance (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who needs music?

 Yamamoto tries his best to enjoy the dance. Sure, plenty people dance with him, and the music is loud and upbeat, but it’s not the same. Without you there it feels . . .empty somehow. So, he waits for his chance. Once Ryohei, Tsuna, Haru and Kyoko are all busy dancing and laughing, he sneaks out. It would be polite to say something,  an earnest explanation of where he’s going, but he doesn’t want to risk drawing the attention of the disciplinary prefect aggressively monitoring the dance. He has a few minutes, and the song already loaded up on his phone. A song he’s found himself listening to more and more lately. He can’t put his finger on why, but it makes him think of you.

As Yamamoto moves to begin his exit, however, he feels a hard glare on the back of his neck. A rough calloused hand catches his shoulder before he can close the gym hall door.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” A familiar gruff voice asks him. Yamamoto gives a guilty laugh as he turns round to face Gokudera. “Uhh . . .Bathroom?” he says unconvincingly, giving the storm guardian a sheepish grin. Gokudera frowns at him, eyes narrowing as they search his. Yamamoto doesn’t know what to say without explaining his plan, which no doubt would ignite Gokuderas burning hatred for Hibari, so he keeps his mouth shut. Eventually, his shoulder is let go. A grumpy guardian folding his arms and scowling. “I don’t know what you’re up to but don’t go wandering off. I’m not dealing with Turf Top all night.” The bomber tells him.” And don’t do anything stupid!” Gokudera follows up. Yamamoto nods hurriedly, shouting a thank you to Gokudera and waving as he makes for the stairs.

The cool chill of the summer evening wind is a relief as Yamamoto catches his breath at the door to the rooftop. He spots you at the far end of the chain link fence, staring down at the party below. Yamamoto can feel the smile tug on his face as he quietly, eagerly crosses the weather worn tiles towards you. Ever so carefully he wraps his arms around your waist and rests his chin on your shoulder.

“Day dreaming?” He asks in a smooth voice.

You practically jump out your skin and Yamamoto can’t help but chuckle. You scold him, but there’s little malice behind your words. A tone he quickly learned was developed defensively against anything that could be considered affectionate. As you turn to face him, Yamamoto can see your pupils blown wide to find as much light as they can in the late-night sky. They meet his, questioning and unsure. “Shouldn’t you be at the dance?” You ask, taking a moment before you speak to assess his presence.

Yamamoto chuckles and rubs his nose against yours affectionately, bringing himself closer into your space. “I’ve been to a lot of these dances, I’m sure I won’t miss anything.” He says, relieved at how the tension in your body seems to melt away when he touches you. It’s adorable to watch you blush, even in the cold silver blue light, the pink on your cheeks is visible.

You tell him off, insisting that he should be down with everyone else enjoying himself, dancing with someone. “How about I dance with you instead.” Yamamoto smiles, taking your cast hand in his and resting it on his shoulder. He moves the arm around your waist to pull your body a little closer.

You mumble something about there being no music, and Yamamoto can only grin as through the silence the faint remnants of the party down below drift up and fill the quiet rooftop. With a knowing smile on his face, he brings out his phone and turns on the song he’s had queued for days now. It’s a slow song, the kind he thinks were made for to people like you and him to dance to.

This is Yamamotos first time slow dancing, for a moment he worries he don’t know what to do. But it almost comes naturally, instinct guiding you along his movements. He doesn’t try anything fancy, two step swaying. Back and forth, you dance, discreetly avoiding eye contact but following all the same. It’s wonderful. The sensation of your hand on his shoulder, the way your face is so close to his. The soft music and the moonlight make everything seem almost dream like as Yamamoto finds himself looking in your beautiful eyes. He feels drawn to them, like they’re calling for him to look closer. There’s an embarrassed look on your face as he catches you looking back into his eyes before quickly looking away.

Taking the opportunity, Yamamoto stretches out his arm and twirls you around. He watches with joy as your hair sways with the movement and your hips pull round to spin the rest of your body along the line he’s traced for you. It’s the kind of movement that makes his heart jump as you spin yourself back into his grasp. His breath catches as your eyes meet his again, the smile on your face childish and giddy as you allow it to spread across your face. You laugh, telling him how lame it is to dance with someone up on the school roof tops. Yamamoto gives you a contended look. “I know how excited you were about it.” He whispers, so you have to move your face a little closer to his.

Yamamoto moves his face too, closing the gap until he can see every fleck of colour in those captivating eyes. They go wide when you realise how near he is, but you don’t pull away. His own eyes flit to your lips and back to you. The sound of blood pumping around his body funnels out the music, can you hear it too? Can you hear how loud his heart is beating? Can you see it on his face? Yamamoto hopes you can’t, but a deeper part of him sincerely hopes you can. He wants you to know, no more guessing, no more questions. You deserve to know.

A loud explosion echoes throughout the building, shaking even the roof top tiles. You’re apart from him in an instance, and in the split second it takes you to understand what’s happened, your face narrows into a hard glare. Yamamoto tries to catch your hand, but you’re gone. Weapon drawn and rushing into the building, to the source of the problem.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, another chapter uploaded itself (*ﾟﾛﾟ) how does this keep happpening? More importantly how does Yamamoto keep almost getting a chance to kiss you and then get interrupted. Fate is so cruel, perhaps next time you'll get lucky (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	52. Consequences (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Repercussions? What's that?

Gokudera isn’t doing this for you. He’s doing this for the students of Namimori, for Juidame. For too long, Hibari has been abusing his power over Namimori. The fact this burning desire to put the bastard prefect in his place had ignited the same day he’d essentially cock-blocked you from going to a dance you’d been extremely excited about attending, was purely coincidental. Nothing to do with you and everything to do with high and mighty authority figures abusing their power and needing taken down a peg.

The ache in his shoulder is nothing as Gokudera lures Hibari down an already rigged hallway. Who cares if the school blows up? He’s forgotten more than any of these outdated old bag teachers will ever know. Need be, he can teach Juidame himself.

Another trip wire detonates and the satisfying thump of a controlled explosion blasts down the corridor. The flames and smoke burn wild against the night sky as the plume out of the broken wall. Hibari is mad, the aggressive personification of abusive authority’s stare piercing through the mess of smoke as he spits the blood out form his mouth. Hibari can glare all he wants, Gokudera’s not afraid of him. A tonfa is thrown his way and Gokudera dodges the first, but not the other. His leg falls from under him and stumbles against the pain. Before Gokudera can regain his balance, Hibari pounces on him. A swift punch to the back of his head knocks him down. Hibari is relentless, a tonfa to the face, his side. Swift attempts to knock him out accompanied by a sinister grin as Gokudera flinches with every hit. He can kick his legs in an attempt to shove him off, but Gokudera isn’t flexible enough. But it’s fine, he’s _got this_. He can reach his lighter, and that’s enough to light the damn prefects stupid jacket one fire.

It works and the surprise is enough for Gokudera to tip the battle in his favour. He rolls away proud of his momentary triumph, creating space and distance for another dynamite attack. In theory, Hibari shouldn’t be able to get up quick enough, but the prefect does a terrifying look in his eye as he uses one of his recovered tonfas to pin Gokudera to the far wall. Gokudera curses under his breath as he wriggles against the restraint, desperately looking for a way out.

It comes, in the shape of your voice. A loud call and your staff flies down the hallway, knocking out the tonfa keeping him in place. Hibari doesn’t falter, continuing his advance. Gokudera matches his pace, lighter ready, one hand curled into a tight fist. Gokudera is going to give Hibari exactly what he deserves.

A bright flash of white sears down the hallway. It’s so bright Gokudera holds his hand up to shield his eyes, and isn’t able to put it down. His mind panics, frantically commanding his body to move. Instead, his mind registers the cold. A chill that seems to have snuck up on his entire body. It’s painful, saturated and singed in his muscles with ice. He can’t move, he can barely think past the agonising burn. His chest is tight, so tight, he can’t breathe. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello little children, it's a treat this weekend with a three part-er! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧ Because people seem to really love this arc and all the subscriptions and kudos and bookmarks have given me so much energy. Thank you so much guys, i love you so much for sticking with this fic and giving it so much love <3 <3 ♡＾▽＾♡ <3 <3


	53. A United Front (Hibari,Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Authority in ice

Up ahead Gokudera can see Hibari is in the same situation, movements stiffening as he fights against the cold restraint. Gokudera’s eyes dart to you, the other half of your staff is stuck and your eyes are wide. Yamamoto isn’t far behind, the idiot staring dumbfounded at the situation in front of him.

“Hey, they’re like statues.” Yamamoto laughs after a moment, waving his hand in front of Hibari. The bastards face doesn’t change, but the atmosphere around him becomes even more dangerous. If he could, Gokudera would roll his eyes at the idiots actions. Instead the cold feeling begins seeping into his bones.

Reborn appears from nowhere, jumping onto Yamamoto’s shoulder. He’s accompanied by two cervello. For some reason, Reborn looks smug and Gokudera gets the feeling this is an outcome he’s been expecting. “You need to fix this.” Reborn says to you, seemingly unworried about the effect of whatever the fuck you’ve just done to him and Hibari. You question why the cervello are present.

“The cervello are to enforce rules and fairness in all mafia battles.” One says, in a robotic tone so devoid of emotion Gokudera imagines there’s nothing more than bolts and wires underneath those garish bright pink wigs. You huff, crossing your arms and muttering something about this not being a real mafia battle. Reborn and the cervello ignore your comment. Instead, Reborn instructs Yamamoto to walk over to Gokudera. A tiny hand lands on his frozen cheek, it’s warm and so incredibly welcome as it thaws a miniscule patch of skin. “Impressive.” Reborn mutters, too quietly for anyone but Gokudera and Yamamoto to hear. “Enough playing _,_ you need to release them.” Reborn says, turning to look at you.

You shake your head, and Gokudera starts to panic. What did that mean? How could you just shake your head?! Just what the fuck is happening? He tries to shout, but his mouth feels stiff as though the muscles in his jaw as frozen solid. The more he tries, the more it seems to freeze over. The ice penetrating the inner part of his chest, making it harder to breathe.

“Maybe they just need warmed up?” Yamamoto suggests, rubbing his hand on Gokuderas shoulder. As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, the spot Yamamoto touches starts to feel a lot less frozen. And for once, he’s glad of the idiots overly touchy nature. Gokudera tries to move his shoulder, and it works, just a little. He glares at the idiot through frozen eyes and tries to signal to him through some sort of telepathic voice to keep rubbing. But the idiot leaves off. Making a joke about Gokudera not liking to be touched.

Reborn instructs Yamamoto to take the two of them to the boiler room. Apparently, that’s their best bet. By the time they’re there Gokudera is struggling to breathe. The silent pleas for air silenced by the constricted ice around his chest. He can’t will Yamamoto to move him quick enough in front of the boiler, but as soon as the baseball idiot is done manoeuvring both of them, the relief is instant.

Gokudera can breathe again, it shallow and not nearly as much as he needs, but if he counts and controls the timing, he’s okay. You and Yamamoto take turns, wrapping warmed towels around their bodies and rubbing them gently to try and restore blood flow. You look apologetically at Gokudera as you work, soft mutterings of _sorry_ _I don’t know what happened_ over and over. Gokudera has a thousand questions to ask you, and several short sharp insults for just what the fuck you’ve done to him.

The boiler room is humid, years of unchecked machinery have left it smelly and dark. For the moment, Gokudera is incredibly glad he can’t smell anything.  The cervellos stand in the corner of the room, their dead white masked eyes make him uneasy as he finds himself staring at them. Gokudera feels a heavy resentment towards their lack of aid, for being so high and mighty the cervello seemed quite happy to let the two of them freeze if it meant the end of their conflict. Another authority figure with a high horse so big Gokudera’s fingers itch to knock it down. He moves his eyes to look over at Hibari, who seems as frozen as he is. The prefect’s eyes are darting everywhere, fighting the constraints holding his body. By the time either of them can shift the muscles in their face, Hibari is glaring at you.

Gokudera knows Hibaris going to fight you. That you’re going to end up injured again because that bastard can’t control his temper for one god damn minute. So, Gokudera makes every attempt to unfreezes himself first. He desperately tries to move closer to the boiler, silently willing you to brush the towel over his skin a little faster. As he does, he makes eye contact with Hibari again, who catches on to his plan immediately. Both boys shake and twitch and try frantically to out manoeuvre the other.

Gokudera keeps one eye on you as you work, he can feel the edges of his muscles freeing up, you blow into your hands and then run them over his. He ignores how nice the gesture feels. The action and affection that comes from you _basically holding his hand_. He takes as much of a deep breath as he can manage from his ice imprisoned lungs, and reminds himself he’s over you. The logic part of his brain taking over primal reactions and reminds him this is a simple hormonal reaction to warm human contact.

“Hey! It’s working!” Yamamoto calls out as he points to the cloud guardians’ fingers.

You let out a sigh of relief and seem overwhelming less terrified at the news. What feels like an eternity passes as Gokudera waits for the next break through. Finally, _finally_ he’s able to move his body. He shifts his muscles, flexing and testing the room he has to work with. Hibaris lip are the first to unfreeze. “I’m going to bite you to death.” He says, glaring in your direction. Gokudera can feel his lips unlock, but the sound of the boiler room door being slammed open draws his attention before he can say anything.

It’s Dino, the stupid clumsy self-proclaimed “big brother” to Juidame. “Kyouya!” the blonde shouts, tripping over his own whip following the complicated process of stepping through a door way. Dino takes one look at you and cracks his whip.

Gokudera doesn’t process the move quick enough, but Hibari does. The cloud guardian is in front of you in an instant, despite the lingering effect of the cold. Since when the hell did Hibari care if you get hurt or not? Dino looks mad, shouting at Hibari to move aside. Gokudera has no clue what’s going on but since when did Dino have the nerve to threaten a member of Juidames family?! Using what little movement he has, Gokudera shifts the lighter out of his pocket and frees up the rest of his arm enough to put himself between you and Dino.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing old man?!” Gokudera shouts at Dino, who’s still struggling to make his whip hit without his men around.

“Hayato you don’t understand, she-“ Dino doesn’t get to finish his sentence before Hibari delivers a swift tonfa hit to his leg. “Enough.” Is all the prefect says as he follows his attack up with a knee to the stomach. Gokudera gives Dino a sneaky hard kick to the leg, a small pay back for all the time he’s dropped in unannounced to interrupt on quality time with Juidame.

The action catches Hibari attention, and the bastard fucking _smirks_ at Gokudera as he shoves Dino out of the room and slams the door behind him. The room is quiet for a few moments

“Gokudera-kun, don’t you like Dino?” Yamamoto questions as he drops a towel over Gokuderas shoulders and gives him a wholly unnecessary rub.

“Of course not.” Gokudera scoffs, attempting to shove off the overenthusiastic rain guardian. “Bastard just shows up and does whatever he wants with Juidame.”

“Ah.” The rain guardian says, ignoring Gokdueras effort to shift him. “Lucky, Dino showed up when he did huh Angel-chan , it seemed like you and Hibari were never gonna stop fighting.” Yamamoto laughs.

“Yes, how lucky.” You reply, as a small smirk creeps over your face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god i'm so sorry this is late! I got a new laptop and had to transfer everything over and redownload some stuff but it's here now (*＾▽＾)／ Hibari and Gokudera may not get along but if there's one thing they both hate, it's people who think they're better than them! Precious aggressive boys <3 Part three and the final chapter of this arc will be up in less than an hour my lovely wonderful children


	54. Common Ground (Hibari,Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not angry, just dissapointed

Hibari hasn’t forgotten the events of the previous day. The strange attack that left the very core of his body feeling cold and stiff. If he could, he’d avoid you a little more just to teach you a lesson. But he has news, news that he’s disappointed in you, which is far more gratifying to lord over you than the denial of his attention. As he enters the library, he finds you and the loud herbivore settled on opposite ends of the sofa reading. He doesn’t greet the herbivore, but he doesn’t attack him either. That should be enough to exude an air of reluctant acceptance. A common enemy didn’t make them friends.

Hibari waits until you acknowledge him. When you do make eye contact, he’s sure it’s at your expense, forcing you to look up to him as he towers over your position on the well worn sofa. He doesn’t say anything to introduce the reason for his visit, instead he simply passes you the exam results.

Your face falls and the herbivore leans over your shoulder to read. “After all the studying we did?!” The loud herbivore shouts. You groan and mumble something about still not understanding kanji of a certain level. Hibari folds his arms.

“This is your own fault, you were warned not to forget about exams.” He reminds you flatly.

The herbivore grabs the paper from your hands, pulling his glasses up from his eyes and back down again. “How did you get a D in culture and history?! We went over that a million times. How clueless can you be?!” The herbivore shouts, throwing his hands in the air. Hibari has to agree, he’s given you enough books on the subject that you should be pulling a B at least, an A as standard for a disciplinary team member. You look at Hibari worriedly, apology and pleading in your eyes. “What does this mean?” you ask him.

Hibari smirks, unfolding his arms and taking the paper from the herbivores hands.  “You’ll be attending summer school. First day starts at eight, Disciplinary members arrive an hour early for set up and monitoring.” He informs you, before turning swiftly and exiting the library. Looks like you’d be seeing more of him over the summer whether you liked it or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps Gokudera and Hibari aren't as different as everyone thinks they are (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧ Hello trash children ,this chapter marks the end of the arc and i really hope you enjoyed! Did you like having all the drama and interactions between the guardians? It was a lot of extra work but i'm so proud of how it turned out <3 _(:3 」∠)_


	55. Karaoke (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sing your heart out

The first day of summer holidays are always the best. Yamamoto’s morning run is warm and full of new things as he takes a different route. He’d been insistent on spending the first day of the summer holidays with you and you’d agreed, eventually, but declined the five am morning run as you sunk your head back between your pillows and cursed. He hums all through his shower and finds himself grinning as he checks the clock in his room. Seven am was a fine lie in, you’d probably be up by now.

Yamamoto doesn’t bother waiting for the rest of his hair to dry as he pulls on fresh pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and all but bounds into your room. He throws himself on your bed and begins searching for you under the tussled duvet and mess of pillows. He sings your name as his fingers search for those vulnerable parts of your skin.

A grumpled acknowledgement of his presence sounds from underneath a small collection of blankets and Yamamoto finds your underarm first. The squeal is fantastic. He tickles until you’re squirming and begging him to stop. Which he does, but only once you’ve admitted you’re up. He collapses next you on the pale blue duvet and gives you a moment to catch your breath. Heavy staggered breaths filling the air against his own.

“So, what’s today going to be?” He asks you, turning to look into your eyes.

You return his enthusiasm with a very poorly attempted stare that melts into a fond eye roll. You tell him after what happened last night, you feel exhausted and Yamamoto understands.  You say Kyoko and Haru were looking at a new karaoke place and had invited everyone along. You show him your phone, wanting to make sure you’ve read it properly and Yamamoto shuffles closer, his shoulder touching yours. He looks over, just to check you’re okay with being this close, but you don’t turn you head, just let his hand come up over yours to hold the phone. As usual, your hands are cold.

“Perfect.” Yamamoto says as he holds your hand to his forehead. “I was too hot after my run.” He jokes as he closes his eyes and lets the cool temperature slide over his skin. You snort and pull your hand back, giving him a playful shove! “Just read the text. Help me reply.” You tell him. He types out a quick reply, tongue stuck out at an odd angle as he figures out what to type, as he explains he’s replying from your phone and on your behalf. A reply comes seconds later in the group chat from Haru, asking if Yamamoto and you are going to sing a duet together followed by several heart eye emojis and a microphone.

“What did they say?” you ask. Yamamoto thinks about singing a duet with you, up on stage, together. It sounds like a really good idea.

“They’re asking if we’re going to sing together.” He tells you, turning to look at your face. You’re so close he can see the sleep still in your eyes as you muse the idea over.

“I don’t think I know any duets, and singing in front of people is a little . . . I mean I want to I just . . .” You say, your voice trailing off as you look uncomfortably around the room.

Yamamoto grins, seeing an opportunity to help you, Because you do know a duet. The earbuds from his run are still in his pocket, so he hands one to you and slips on into his ear. There’s a slow pause as he searches for the song, and a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth when he finds what he’s looking for . He licks his lips as he presses play, and waits for your reaction turning on his side to watch your face. Music fills on ear and you close your eyes, taking in the song with careful consideration etched on your face. Yamamoto wonders if you recognise it, if the notes sound familiar, if it reminds you of the rooftop. He watches your face carefully, hopefully.

Then your mouth moves, not much, but enough. Enough that Yamamoto can see you’re mouthing along to the chorus. His heart jumps in his chest as a few stray notes make their way into the air above the bear whisper of your voice. He shimmies closer, placing an arm above your head to balance himself as he tries to get a better ear. It would be easier to put his arm around your stomach, but he doesn’t want to disturb you. There’s a peaceful atmosphere as the chorus fades to the next verse and you hum along softly. A stray strand of hair falls onto your cheek and without thinking Yamamoto moves to brush it off. Your eyes open, beautiful surprised eyes that stare into his. Neither of you realising how close you’d gotten. He notices your lips part slightly, how big your pupils are, how captivated he feels by the intimacy of the moment. Something in the air pulls Yamamoto towards you, something magnetic and as strong as it is silent. He finds his own lips parting slightly, his head angling a little closer to yours.

“Bwahahah Lambo-chan can’t be caught!” Lambo cries as he jumps through the open door onto the bed holding two pink grenades. Gokudera isn’t far behind.

“Oi stupid cow, give me back my shoe!” Gokudera shouts barging into the room with dynamite sticking out of each hand. Yamamoto laughs, pausing the song and picking up Lambo.

“Is it really safe to be giving a kid toy grenades?” Yamamoto asks as he admires the well crafted toys. You stick your hand into Lambos fro and pull out Gokuderas shoe.

“Just what the hell are you two doing in bed together?!” Gokudera ask abruptly as he takes in the scene.

Yamamoto grins. “We’re planning a karaoke day, do you want to join Gokudera?” He offers, figuring the more the merrier when it comes to these kind of things. Gokudera retrieves his shoe and grumpily folds his arms after putting it back on.

“As if I’d go to a stupid karaoke day with you two idiots.” He replies. “I’ve got better things to do today, juidame needs my help before summer school.” He explains, looking incredibly proud.

Your phone pings in amongst the bed sheets. “Hey, boss is coming too!” You say, showing the text to him and Gokudera, who looks momentarily annoyed.

“I’m still not going.” Gokudera mutters.

“What if boss wants to sing a duet?” You offer. And Yamamoto recognises that little smirk in the corner of your mouth as you propose the situation to the dedicated right hand man. The change in Gokudera’s mood is almost instant, he excitedly begins explaining all the cool songs he and Tsuna could sing together. Yamamoto just laughs, it’ll be exciting for sure. His eyes slide over to you as Gokudera continues speaking. You’re already looking through song lists on your own phone.

“The great Lambo-chan wants to sing too!” Lambo shouts, shoving his way out of Yamamoto’s hands and into your lap. “Lambo-chan is the best singer!” He boasts, using his small hands to bring your phone down to reading height. You look cute like that, one hand patting Lambos head as you both scroll through song choices. Yamamoto senses a shift in the atmosphere and looks up at Gokudera, who seems to be gazing at you with the same affection. Only for his eyes to slide over to Yamamoto and immediately ask him what the fuck he thinks he’s looking at.

Yamamoto doesn’t get you to himself again for the whole day. Everyone takes a break from the karaoke room to collect drinks and buy another half an hour. The first taken up primarily by trying to get Lambo under control and Haru enthusiastically teaching everyone’s dance moves for her songs. The room is small. One stage at the front and a booth seat big enough for four comfortably – or seven squished up together- and a table. Yamamoto has his arm around the back of the sofa, by coincidence you’d ended up squished next to him, and even when everyone had left, you’d remained pressed up against him. Too focused on finding a specific song to notice.

“Are you excited?” He asks, tilting his head to smile at you.

“A little. What was the name of that song?” You ask him, not looking up as you scan through song titles. “The one you played this morning, I think I’ve heard it somewhere before?”

Yamamoto tries not to let the question phase him. It’s understandable you don’t remember exactly where you’d heard the song; a lot had happened that night. You’d spoken to him about it a little afterward. You’d been worried about Gokudera and Hibari, Yamamoto got the sense you weren’t quite sure how or what you’d done to them. But he pushes that thought to the back of his mind, the mafia game was confusing enough, and you weren’t playing that right now.

 

 

Instead, he brings his arms around yours and flicks through the pages of the song book. “The red thread?” You read aloud, as he points to the number and title. Yamamoto nods. “Why is it called that?” You ask, punching in the number. He thinks about that for a moment. He remembers his dad telling him about an old folklore story. Two people tied by the red thread of fate by a matchmaking god. He explains as well as he can recall, that when two people are tied together their fates are linked and regardless of time, or circumstance. You laugh at him. Telling him that the idea sounds terrible idealistic and silly. Despite this, you still choose the song. Yamamoto picks you up and plonks you on the stage before you can change your mind. Stating you two have enough time to practice before the others come back.

He hands you a microphone and gives you a supportive smile. “There’s no one watching, you don’t have to be nervous.” He says, as he feels your hand shake slightly when you take the microphone. You pout at that.

“You’re watching.” You tell him.  Yamamoto can’t argue with that, but he can help. In a grand gesture, he covers his eyes and turns his back.

“Better?” He chuckles. The first few notes of the music start up. He _senses_ the atmosphere as you miss the intro, instinctively, Yamamoto stretches his hand behind him. The cold doesn’t surprise him, but the way your pinky wraps around his does. It’s a small gesture, he intended for you to take his hand, but that isn’t you. So he strokes your pinky finger with his as he picks up the song. Singing badly, purposefully. Because if he sounds bad, maybe you won’t feel so awkward. It works, his back is still turned, but he can hear the laugh in your voice as you sing along, and he throws his voice all over the place, making voices and jokes and pretending to forget the words too so you can stumble through the song together.

“Okay, okay. If you sing like that I think it’ll be easier.” You tell him, gently tugging his finger to turn him around. His eyes meet yours, a delighted smile on your face as you start singing the chorus again. Yamamoto finds himself grinning like an idiot as he listens, doing nothing more than smiling as you sing seriously for the first time. It’s nice, maybe after this he can convince you to sing a little more. With your eyes on his and your voice filling the room, it’s like you’re singing to him, and only him.

The spell is broken by a loud crash from the other side of the door. You drop the mic instantly and run out the room, hand on your weapon, Yamamoto follows, equally as concerned. What he sees is the opposite of danger. Ryohei is holding Lambo by the scruff of his collar, shattered glass and juice mess the floor. Gokudera in the midst looking half way between pissed and embarrassed as he shouts at Lambo. “Stupid cow! Look what you made me-“

“Out!” The owner yells, coming from behind the counter to wave a broom at the trio. “You kids are nothing but trouble!”

There’s still half an hour left on the room, but Yamamoto isn’t going to leave Lambo, Ryohei and Gokudera alone together. Clearly, it’s a recipe for disaster. You follow him as he moves to join them and he stops you.

“You can stay here.” Yamamoto says, leaning down to be head height with you. You’d done so well to sing with him, and he knows this is something you’d been looking forward too. Haru and Kyoko are still allowed in and that’d be enough to make it count. He smiles and manhandles you back to the door once the girls return, instructing them not to let you out until you’ve sung at least one song with them. They agree and enthusiastically haul you up on stage. Yamamoto makes sure to wave as the door closes. Maybe he wouldn’t get to spend the whole day with you, but those little moments together. With just you and him, are worth it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello precious ones I'm literally yeet-ing this chapter and going because this week has been busy AF. Yamamoto is best guy and so precious he deserved a lil chapter to himself <3 We Also hit 50 kudos this week and boy that made me so happy thank you for all the support and love guys it really really inspires me <3 <3


	56. Outskirts (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you go down to the woods today

The baby is lucky Hibari is already awake when he walks over the sparkling clean tiles of Namimori rooftops. Hibari doesn’t open his eyes, doesn’t want to give the baby the satisfaction of disturbing him. He waits, focusing on the evening summer breeze that warms his skin. “Nice day for a walk in the woods.” The baby says, a sentence cryptic enough that Hibari opens one eye to regard his presence. There’s no further conversation as the baby leaves, no explanation.  Hibari is curious, but not enough to leave his nap spot. He could check it out later, he’s not at the babys whim. 

It’s almost dark by the time he gets to Namimori woods. A section of land that stands just on the edge of his territory. It’s usually more active, bird calls, the soft tread of deer and other smaller animals filling the forest. But tonight, there’s nothing.  Hibari draws his tonfas pre-emptively, readying himself for whatever enticing challenge the baby has laid out for him as he moves closer to the ocean of trees. For a long time, there’s nothing. No noise, no movement apart from his own steady tread. He keeps his ears focused, his eyes alert. The further he goes, the less sunlight seeps through the thicket of trees, but he adjusts. Tough luck to whoever had to fight _him_ in the dark. 

As if only just becoming aware of it, Hibari spots a set of muted lights up ahead. He stops in his path, taking two steps back. They’re well hidden, in amongst foliage and a cluster of newly branched trees, but he sees them. He keeps his steps light and the grip around his weapons strong as he moves towards the light. More information comes his way, the sound of a shovel, the glint from the moon reflects a shiny chrome material around the lights. A car? The sound of the shovel continues, slowly and steadily it hits the ground, dirt shifts, and the sound repeats. Someone digging in his forest, how interesting.  

There’s a figure up ahead, movements outlined by the headlights that glare the closer Hibari gets. A figure that reminds him of someone. He stops, watching them work. His eyes survey the area and note several spots of fresh dirt accompany the one currently being dug up. The chrome material reveals itself as his eyes adjust, the headlights of a car. Gradually, he recognises you. The grunt as you pile more dirt out of the ground, the way you step back to catch your breath after working with only one viable hand. Hibari watches quietly, considering what it is you’re doing burying things in his territory. Just what had his little animal been up to. 

Hibari looks at the car, running his hand over the cold metal, it’s been here for a while. His hand runs over the boot and a sudden yell sounds from inside. Hibari throws a cold querying look your way, a horrified look crosses over your face as you realise he’s behind you, something hard hits his head from behind and the world goes black. 

Hibari Kyouya least favourite thing, aside from crowds and herbivores, is being restrained. So, when he wakens to darkness and is unable to move his hands, he’s pissed. Incredibly pissed. 

The restraint is plastic, several of what Hibari identifies as zip ties holding his hands behind his back around a large pole. He doesn’t think about anything else, the fact his eyes are covered, the highly possible presence of other people in the room. The only think he can focus on is the restraints burning into his skin. He tugs at them, finger nails itching to wear away at the stubborn tie. They shift slightly when he twists his arm, the plastic strip digging into his skin, but he doesn’t care. Restrained is not a state he should ever be in. His wrists are stinging by the time he feels enough give to yank his arm out, but it doesn’t matter. 

Tearing off the blindfold, Hibari looks at his surroundings. A small room, two windows and a wooden door. Clearly, whoever had kidnapped him hadn’t planned on it, otherwise they would have chosen a more secure place. Hibari checks, and finds his tonfas and disciplinary jacket are gone. No matter, he can bite herbivores to death with his bare hands if need be. He could leave out the window, but then he wouldn’t have the satisfaction of destroying whoever had foolishly attempted to capture him. Hibari could wonder who that was, if it was your doing, or some insulant thug. It didn’t matter, someone would pay. The door is locked, but a swift kick fixes that. The guard on the other side is surprised and Hibari delights in throwing him against the wall to the satisfying thud of his head colliding with solid concrete. Herbivores come in droves, tall ones with matching uniforms. He pays them no mind, slamming, hitting and kicking anything in his way. Adrenaline and power coursing through his body as he disposes of them easily. 

Another room, and another round of herbivores crowd round Hibari. Once he’s finished with all of them he searches the bodies for his tonfas or any kind of substitute weapon. He despises getting so much blood on the sleeves of his uniform, untidy. He finds a baton that fits his style and weighs it in his hand, admiring the dents that no doubt came from some very interesting battles. Gradually, he sees the weapons previous owner reach up, as if trying to snatch it back. Hibari simply smirks and crushes the outstretched hand. How foolish to be injured by your own weapon.  

Somewhere behind him, the sound of more violence trickles through. Hibari leaves his now crippled prey to investigate. Through the door is a control panel and several screens. Hibari scans them for the source of the noise. He spots it, in the corner screen he can see you, beating the shit out of some helpless herbivore. It’s amusing. In a strange twist it would seem you weren’t the one who kidnapped him, but the one coming to save him. Hibari smirks, how adorable, did you really think he needed saving? Pure interest keeps his eyes on you, following you from screen to screen. You’re not bad. Efficient and ruthless in your fighting style, despite the cast on your good hand. The usual cocky smile replaced with a much more serious face as you leave a warpath in your wake. If he were capable of such emotions, Hibari might even say he’s impressed.  

The decision is made there and then to remind you just who he is. As he maps out his journey towards you, Hibari makes the extra effort to show off. Maiming and injuring everyone in sight, breaking furniture and doors down. You needed to be reminded of his strength. The next door and he finds you, knocking over some foolish herbivore. 

Your face is the look of surprise as you size him up, slowly shifting to an impressed curiosity. There’s no words spoken as you approach, but you circle him slowly, eyes surveying what few scars he has, moving to his face, the carnage on his hands. The circle gets tighter as you cross his side. Once you reach his front, Hibari is sure to stand tall, maintaining eye contact to remind you exactly who you’re looking at. You cock one eyebrow and open your mouth to say something, no doubt praising him for taking out so many herbivores without his weapon. But a noise Hibari doesn’t catch stops you. 

His tonfas are shoved against his chest as you tilt your head. “I’ll leave you to it senpai.” You say, a devilish grin on your face as you venture further into the building, leaving Hibari to his own devices and an onslaught of herbivores.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot? In MY reader insert? It's more likely than you think ;)


	57. Buddy Up (Hibari)

“I’m not taking him.” You shout for the fourth time, pacing up and down the roof.  The baby is standing on top of the door, staring down at you.

“Hibari saw what you were doing, he’s involved now.” Reborn tells you for the third time, re-enforcing his statement. You scowl and glare at Hibari and he glares right back. The baby had lead him to the forest, and now there seemed to be an implication that he would _want_ to go on further missions with you. Fighting herbivores had been fun, but Hibari resents the idea that he would work alongside anyone.

“That’s a good point Reborn, just what brought Kyouya-senpai to the woods at such an odd hour?” You ask, turning your scowl to Reborn. The baby smirks, but doesn’t give you a verbal response. Hibari yawns, this argument has been going on for too long and -as far as he’s concerned- he’s made his stance clear. A nap is in order if nothing more entertaining is going to present itself today.

The scars on his wrists are still fresh, so it’d be best to address those first and get himself a clean uniform. Hibari is half way through undressing when he hears footsteps. Neither of which match the pace of you or the baby. _Finally, something interesting_. He wastes no time in pulling on a fresh shirt and drawing back the door of the disciplinary room to confront the intruder. It’s not a student, though that hardly matters. The cowardly herbivore puts up his hands before Hibari can land the first hit, disappointing. A swift smack to the torso sends the intruder reeling, much to Hibaris satisfaction. The herbivore whimpers and reaches into his pocket. Hibari expects a weapon, a bomb, something defensive. Instead, he pulls out a scrap of paper and the sash from his disciplinary jacket. The herbivore speaks, but it’s a foreign language. He doesn’t have time for this. Hibari is about to finish him off when he catches sight of the paper. It’s a worn clipping from the Namimori newspaper, more specifically the Valentines day issue that so crudely plastered your face and the baseball players over the cover in an obscene gesture of a kiss. 

The paper alone is enough to irritate him, forget the fact it clearly violates the purpose of Namimori newspaper, which was to update students on Namimori proceedings and rules. The herbivore points to your face, then to Hibaris sash, the to the ground. As if asking for confirmation he’s got the right place. Hibari doesn’t care why the herbivore has a photo of you, or his sash, or what he could possibly want. Hibari cares about biting an intruding herbivore to death. And he’s about to do so when your voice interrupts him.

There’s an irritating look of recognition on your face as you walk over to the herbivore. Hibari waits for you to explain yourself, silently demanding an explanation for bringing someone so pathetic into his territory as he glares at the scene unfolding in fornt of him. You exchange chaste words in what Hibari now assumes is Italian. You don’t look happy with the herbivores presence. When the herbivore eventually rises from his fallen position on the floor and shows you the same set of objects he’s been brandishing in front of Hibari, your face changes swiftly, almost too quickly for Hibari to catch all the emotions at once. Fear, anger, panic flash in split seconds as your fists clench up and run your good hand through your hair, taking a long slow breath. 

The baby appears moments later, he also looks unhappy with whatever the herbivore is saying. He nods to you and you turn to leave. Hibari begins to feel frustrated by the lack of information, he slides his eyes to the baby, expecting some form of explanation from the powerful infant. Much to his annoyance, before you can leave fully, the herbivore grabs your hand and drops to his knees, holding your hand in both of his above his head. 

“Volevo salvarti ” The herbivore clears his throat meekly. “The favour, returning it.” He says, in an accent so atrocious Hibari considers killing him there and then for such disrespectful use of his language. There’s a slight pride in his chest when you pull your hand away from his and glare at the herbivore. “You don’t owe me anything.” You say bitterly, as though the mere gesture is an insult. How quickly you could change turn to ice, the sentiment amuses Hibari as he flexes fingers over his tonfas. The baby shakes his head, the only person Hibari would willingly listen to. If the baby had reasons not to fight the herbivore it may be advised to hold off. Not that Hibari wouldn’t simply wait until the baby left to continue his beating.

There’s a tense silence as you dismiss the herbivore with a cold wave of your hand, denying him even the slightly curtesy of eye contact. Hibari makes a note to check security cameras later and track the foolish herbivore. He pretends to relax, slinking against the wall and watching you and the baby from behind the lengths of his fringe. There’s little said, but Hibari is surprised to see you hand back the ring you’d fought so hard for during your snow battle. He doesn't say anything, but he wonders how this is connected to what the herbivore had shown you. Without a further word, you bow to the baby, then to him and leave. 

Hibari is about to do the same when the baby speaks. “Looks like you’ll be doing those missions on your own Hibari.” He says, in that distinct high voice. Hibari just smirks, as if he was ever going to do those missions in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no! Where'd you go? ((*゜Д゜)ゞ”


	58. Departed (Yamamoto)

Yamamoto hears your footsteps loud and chaste across the landing in front of his door. No doubt, you’re back from whatevers been keeping you away for the past few days and keen to relax. And the best way for you to relax, would be with some company. He gathers up the work he’s supposed to be doing for summer school and readies himself with a smile to welcome you back.

What Yamamoto finds when he walks to your room, confuses him. You’re angry, muttering things in a language he doesn’t understand. Your movements ae sharp and aggressive as you yank a nondescript bag from under your bed and shove in your belongings haphazardly. Maybe he is wrong, maybe you’re just back for a little before you head out again. Either way a friendly hello couldn’t hurt. “Welcome back,” He says, opening the door a little further to let himself in. You pretend not to hear him, Yamamoto can tell by the slight pause in your mumbling. “Bad day?” He asks, sitting down on the bed next to your bag and tilting his head up in a gentle gesture of friendship. 

You just glance past him, frustration and anger seething from your eyes despite the firm hold you have over the rest of your face. “I don’t have all day you know.” A vaguely familiar voice calls from somewhere below the landing. Yamamomo looks at you for answers, but you give him none. Instead, you finish packing up your belongings, all of your belongings, and head for the door. Your room looks empty now, Yamamoto’s eyes follow yours as they scan the room, looking, checking. There's a moment of silence as you do a full scan, eyes darting over surfaces, the open wardrobe, the bedside table. Yamamoto has no idea what’s going on, but the atmosphere feels tense and he shifts uncomfortably on the bed. “Long trip?” He asks.

“Hurry up!” The familiar voice interrupts. A loud huff of air escapes your mouth and the bag is slung over your shoulder without a further word. Confusion turns into worry as Yamamoto follows you out the room. He discovers the owner of the voice as he follows you down the stairs.

“Yamamoto!” Dino says, his face shifting to a well-practiced smile.

“Hi Dino.” He replies, waving as he follows you down the stairs, returning the deceptively easy-going grin. Something’s up, but Yamamoto doesn’t know enough right now to say what. There’s no trace of a smile on your own face as you pause between Dino and the door.

“You’ll have to excuse us Yamamoto, bit of a rush.” Dino apologises, rubbing the back of his neck. Yamamoto notes how his body language is directed only towards him, in a manner that completely ignores you as part of the conversation. Before another word can be spoken, a black car pulls up and Romario calls for you and Dino.

“Nice catching up!” Dino smiles before heading out the door. Yamamoto walks over to your spot, tilting his head, politely asking for an explanation, or some form of parting before you go. He quickly checks that Dino or Romario can’t see from outside and leans down so his face meets yours. “Is Dino taking you somewhere?” He smiles, venturing a guess as to the reason for your departure. Something niggles at the back of his mind as he says it, the last time he’d seen you and Dino in the same room he’d practically tried to attack you and now you were packing up everything you owned and leaving with him? Yamamoto hazards a guess it must be something to do with Reborn, a kid who’s motives always seemed a little strange. “Good luck with your mafia roleplying mission.” He jokes, knowing how into the roleplaying game you are.

The anger in your eyes softens a little, as though momentarily you’ve forgotten why you’re mad. It passes all too quickly. Yamamoto opens his arms to hug you goodbye, but you step back. “If anyone asks, I was never here.” You whisper, so quietly Yamamoto almost misses it. And then you’re gone, shoving your bag into the boot and slipping into the car with a face like thunder. Yamamoto watches the rear of the car slip away past the garden wall; he watches it shrink down the road and disappear over the horizon.

The next few days are quiet. Gokudera and Tsuna seem as surprised as Yamamoto at your sudden disappearance, neither knowing of any missions involving Dino. He asks the baby, who sternly makes him promise to stop asking questions, to keep his nose out of it. Yamamoto aggress, not wanting to disturb whatever harsh defensive atmosphere Reborn gave off when he asked for the fourth time if you were at least safe. Yamamoto tries not to worry. But he finds himself on Namimori rooftop, looking for the last person who just might know what’s going on. “Hibari!” Yamamoto calls, waving his arm to catch the attention of the sleeping prefect, nestled high on the concrete block that houses the stairway. There’s no response. “Hibari?” Yamamoto tries again, a little louder this time. There’s a high possibility Hibari has fallen asleep and simply hasn’t heard him the first time. He’s soon corrected as the cloud guardian unfurls himself and glares down. 

“Ah did I wake you?” Yamamoto says apologetically. There’s a shift in atmosphere and Yamamoto pulls out his bat fast enough to avoid a tonfa to the face. Hibari’s eyes are two aggressive points burning his face, but Yamamoto ignores the heavy atmosphere in place of shoving Hibari off. “Do you know where Angel-chans gone?” He asks, pointedly sheathing his sword. The questions sets Hibari off kilter slightly. The peaceful action and sudden mention of your name not the follow up move he expected. The cloud guardian keeps his weapon drawn, but there’s less of an aggressive aura as he lets his hands fall to his side.

“Why would I care about something like that?” He asks nonchalantly as Hibird comes to rest on his shoulder. The small yellow bird looks adorable as she tils her head and sizes Yamamoto up, who can’t resist smiling and reaching out his hand to pet her. Hibari moves his shoulder away before the rain guardian has a chance. “You’re annoying me herbivore.” He spits, tightening the grip around his weapon.

Yamamoto just grins and shrugs. “Guess you don’t know where she is either, huh?”

That gets the cloud guardian going, it’s only reflexes that save him from a swift drive of the shiny metal to his stomach. Hibari’s as in the dark as he is, and that’s enough to start a battle. Yamamoto avoids yielding, opting instead for a calm hand on Hibari’s wrist as he side-steps the attack. There's a further look of annoyance as Hibari jerks his hand back. Yamamoto spots an opperunity. “ She left with Dino in such a hurry she didn’t say where she was going.” He explains, recalling how protective Hibari had been of you in the Cavallones presence. Hibaris mask slips for a split second, his eyebrow twitching, anger biting at his face.  “I guess it’ll be okay though.” He jokes lightly, smiling. “She can take care of herself.” Yamamoto takes a second to pause, purposefully bringing a hand up to touch his chin thoughtfully. “Although she’s still got sometime left in the cast,right? Good thing Dino’s there to help.” He muses aloud. Wether or not hibari knows he’s being played isn’t something Yamamoto cgets the chance to work out as the cloud guardian storms off down the stairway to the school. A startled Hibird flits her way back outside and perches herself on the exposed end of the sheeted baseball bat. Yamamoto chuckles and stretches out his finger to let her inspect before patting her head. “Did he give you a scare little bird. Don’t worry, I don’t think he’ll be gone long.” Yamamoto may have been asked to stay out of your sudden disappearance, but Hibari hadn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience with this weeks upload, I've been a little demotivated to write anything but I came back to so many new subscriptions and kudos and I just want to say thank you so much, it really made me so happy and motivated me to get my lazy ass up and get Yamamoto some decent story time. He is the best boi and sometimes hard to write because he's smart but also oblivious and caring but tough and aghhhhhhh he's my fave precious bby. Love you guys so much <3 <3 <3


	59. Gone (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a good thing.

Gokudera didn’t care why you were gone. Unlike the baseball idiot or the bastard prefect who seemed _obsessed_ with your sudden disappearance, Gokudera welcomed it. He could wake up whatever time he wanted in the mornings without the loud noise of you getting ready, or practicing with your weapon. His days are completely devoid of your distractions. No-one took the good reading spot on the Vongola sofa, no-one bothers him asking if he wants another cup of coffee when he’s working, no-one argues with him over stupid things even when he _so clearly knows more about the topic_. No-one laughs at him for getting all worked up, no-one makes him feel uncomfortable or horribly aware of his appearance and mannerisms and over all existence by their mere presence.

He didn’t care when strange Vongola henchmen came into your room with plastic sheets and hazard suits and cleaned everything until the stench of bleach covered up any miniscule evidence of your existence. He didn’t care when another set of men came, speaking only in Italian and verifying their presence with a slightly stifled Reborn, and carried out the exact same process. Most importantly, he definitely didn’t have any questions or worries or concerns about the whole situation, at all, whatsoever. It was _fine_ that you didn’t tell him, the only mafia born in the Vongola house, where you were going. It certainly didn’t play on his mind the fact that _Dino_ , the annoying self-proclaimed big brother to the already incredibly independent and amazing Juidame, had been the one to whisk you away . . . somewhere. Somewhere, Gokudera reminded himself, that was none of his business.

By all means, you up and leaving was the best thing that had happened to Gokudera, ever. He settles in the good spot of the Vongola sofa and cracks open his book. No disturbances, perfect.

Gokudera’s half way through a particularly interesting chapter on wave formalism in nonlinear Fabry when he realises his coffee cup is empty. Shoving the book down he heads to the kitchen and looks out a bigger cup, making enough coffee to sustain a small army. By the time he returns, his book is missing. Gokudera finds himself cursing aloud before looking round for some sign of your interference. You probably thought this was funny, you and Yamamoto – or worse lambo- having nothing better to do with your time than steal his book.  He snaps around, as if trying to catch you hiding somewhere in the room. The action’s a little fast, and coffee spills out his almost over full cup and scalds his hand. Another swear escapes his lips as he cusses out the inventor of such low walled mugs. The noise brings unwanted attention as the baseball idiots sticks his head through the hole in the Vongola living room wall. “Everything alright?” He asks, as though it’s any of his damn business.

“Did you steal my book?!” Gokudera shouts accusingly. Yamamoto just laughs and opens the living room door to continue the conversation properly, asking where the last place he had seen the book was. “Well if I knew that I couldn’t be looking would I idiot?!” He snaps, already preparing to shout the entire house down to get you to give it back, this was so typical, just when he was relaxed you have to come in and ruin it. “Think you’re so fucking funny.” He grumbles.

Yamamoto walks to the side of the sofa, crouches down out of vision and stands up again triumphantly holding the book. “Is this it?” He asks, tilting his head innocently. Gokudera huffs over and snatches the book from the taller boys hands. Unwilling to admit his ignorance. Sure _this_ time it had simply fallen off the edge of the arm, but it was also much more likely that you had stolen it from him. This was a coincidence he explains defensively.

There’s a concerned look on the baseball idiots face as he looks down at Gokudera. “It seems a little unlikely she would have stolen your book, Gokudera.” Yamamoto says, as if the low browed idiot could somehow even begin to understand the concept of probability and situational statistics. Gokudera’s mid way through explaining why it’s _EXCATLY_ possible that you stole his book, based on the fact that more often than not when something weird happens around the Vongola mansion, or Namimori in general, when he’s interrupted.

“She’s gone Gokudera.” Yamamoto says, in such a soft and gentle manner Gokudera feels as though he’s being spoken go like a small child. He folds his arms, taking them down from their mid rant position.

 “I-I know that!” He stammers defensively. “You don’t have to say it like that!” He knew you were gone, he was _enjoying_ the fact you were gone. This was just what he wanted, the sudden drop that hit his stomach like an anvil was unrelated to remembering you were gone. It would be so much easier to get over you if you weren't actually here, this was a good thing.

Yamamoto earns a smack on the head for laughing at him, and for implying that Gokudera in any way shape or form was missing you. Gokudera huffs all the way to his bedroom, purposefully ignoring Yamamotos offer for support or a friendly chat to _talk about his feelings._ There’s an old sci-fi movie on his laptop and that should take his mind off things for a while, not that he _needed_ to be distracted from anything. His stomach aches because he hasn’t eaten, that’s all. The movie good one too, with more factual interruptions of alien life forms and calm narrative voice that almost puts Gokudera to sleep. His eyes are halfway closed when he looks at his phone to realise it’s 2am and he should really start with the bedtime routine he’s been kidding himself is a healthy habit - It’s technically a routine if he goes to sleep at the same ridiculous time every night.

Not the routine ever worked, not that thoughts swirled in his head like spun cobwebs, going nowhere and interlinking. Not that those thoughts were of you. Gokudera rolls over the pile of sheets he’s deemed too warm for the night and brings his forearms up to cover his face. Why was it that even when you left, you were able to annoy him?!

A loud bang sounds from your room and Gokudera is up and on his feet in a heartbeat, his blood running hot and cold with excitement and worry. You’d come back. You’d snuck back at some ungodly hour just to be a nuisance, typical. Without hesitation he shoves open the door, words primed and ready to lecture you on just how irresponsible and thoughtless you’d been.

But the room is empty, somehow more bare and cold basked in the blue tone of the summer moon. The window had been left open, no doubt to let the room air after the vigorous treatment it had undergone. The open window bangs loudly against the wall as the wind catches it again. Gokudera jumps despite knowing the sound is coming, quickly storming over and smacking the window closed before it can piss him off any more. There’s a second, no a millisecond, where his eyes scan over the garden outside, just in case. He sighs, annoyed at himself, and forces his eyes to look back into the bedroom. He’s only a few inches from your bed. The one you’d kissed him on, the one where he’d spent perhaps one too many days reading with you, the bed where you’d sleep every night.

It’s not natural, but the urge is too strong as Gokudera lets himself sit on the edge of the bed and a hand stroke over the space where you’d lie. The heavy feeling in his stomach doubles and -despite it being medically impossible- the space his heart occupies feels . . . empty. As though it just disappeared and left a huge whole in his body. Angrily , he curls his hand into a fist and shoves himself off the bed. He didn’t care you were gone, he _did not_ care you were gone. The loud slam of your door could have woken up the whole house. Gokudera doesn’t care, _he doesn’t care about anything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera bby, he aint dealing with this well at all TT_TT The only thing Gokudera handles worse than lambo is his own feelings. Boy aint gone have an easy summer for sure. Also, me, late for an upload? Never! (；・∀・)


	60. Friend of a Friend (Hibari,Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh the joys of modern technology

You’d been in worse situations. For one, at least your cast was off. Much to Dino’s disappointment, even his own physicians couldn’t deny it was time for it to come off. So, you had both your hands back. Shame you’d been stripped of your weapon, and possessions, and any form of personal item.

Dino had allowed you one set of your own clothing to keep, possibly because he considered a straight jacket too on the nose or because he simply couldn’t stand the thought of you wearing anything Cavallone related. You had to hand it to Dino, technically this is a safe place. The prison block was heavily secured, with rotating guards, hourly fire alarm checks, 24 hr surveillance and walls thick enough that even in the height of the Italian summer, it felt cold. The cell walls are smooth as you run your now free arm over the cool concrete. It was good to have it back, just being able to flex it freely gave you a false sense of freedom and power that sustained you for a few days through sheer boredom.

Another time, you might have entertained the idea of escaping. Of slipping your hand into the guards holster when he wasn’t paying attention and holding him at gun point. Idealisations of grabbing the key to your cell held so preciously on a lanyard long enough to strangle someone with from arm’s length away. You wonder if Dino is doing it on purpose, giving you opportunities, clear openings to escape your prison. You know what would happen if you did. He’d run to Reborn, label you reckless, a wild card, only concerned with yourself. Dino wouldn’t have volunteered to  safeguard you if he hadn’t seen an opportunity to expose who he thought you were. The stupid Cavallone still on his high horse about a few singed bodyguards an an event he couldn’t have any proof you were involved with.

You roll over on the concrete floor and continue picking at the small crack you’ve been whittling away at for the past few days .  . . weeks? It’s hard to tell when a day begins and ends without windows. Heavy footsteps echo down the hallway. You sigh and assume the position, mocking the call two seconds later for you to stand with your face to the wall. You hear the door open, but there’s no sound of the food tray sliding across the floor, instead there’s the short cough of a slightly uncomfortable man. Rough hands capture you in restraints and the wholly unnecessary precaution of muzzling you is put in practice, as the cool feel of leather covers the lower half of your face and surrounds your nose. You could roll your eyes but that’d probably only give Dino an excuse to blindfold you as well.

You’re taken upstairs, away from the cells, and into what you can only assume is the drawing room of one of the many mansions Dino came to own. The room is lavish, decorated in a manner that implies money isn’t anything new to the Cavallone. A generic henchman shoves you into a dark wooden seat and begins removing the restraints, another pair of hands tucks your chair in, as close to the desk as possible. Their owner moves round into view. You recognise the Cavallone right hand man immediately.

 “A Vongola guardian has requested communication.” Romario informs you, placing a laptop on the desk in front of you. You’re sure to give him a quick look over before you face the screen curious as to just who could have been granted permission to know your wear abouts _and_ communicate with you while you were on protective lockdown. The screen shines into life, a slightly nervous looking Kusukabe greeting you. There’s a strange atmosphere as he turns the camera round to reveal the disciplinary room, and a more than irritated looking Hibari seated in his usual spot at the disciplinary desk. “Kyouya-san” Kusukabe interrupts, pointing to the camera, to you.

Hibaris face doesn’t change as he looks up, there’s no surprise or gratitude to Kusukabe, he just stares. The famous thought piercing stare that could bore holes into the oldest glaciers in the arctic. The stare sharpens as Hibari realises what’s happened. A steady glare burns through the screen. Another time, you might have returned is sombre look, but having contact with someone beyond the generic faces of the Cavallones guard rotation is enough to significantly lift your mood.

You let out a relieved breath as you sit up properly in your seat and acknowledge your senpai.

“You’re behind on your disciplinary duties.” He says abruptly, before you can get a polite greeting in.

You look up at Romario, questioning just what had transpired in the moments leading up to this video link, but the older man seems quite amused with the whole transaction.

“Where is your paperwork for the summer school rota?” Hibari demands, already annoyed you’re not paying him the proper amount of attention. You attempt to explain what you can, you’ve had to go into hiding, you’re safe etc. You could tell him more, but the less anyone in the Vongola knew, the safer they were. “That’s no excuse.” Hibari scolds. He informs you and Romario that he’s sent over your work and he wants it done without further delay. You know there’s no arguing with Hibari when he’s in this kind of mood. Life threatening danger or not, you had work to do. Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you lean back and let Romario fiddle with the keyboard to find the email. As the older man struggles with the basic concept of a computer your mind wonders just how much of this interaction Dino knows about, if at all. There was something in the fact Romario had taken you out of the cell. But that could be to pretend Dino was taking better care of you than he was, but it could also be that this room has no cameras. Right hand men were always tricky to asess. Unlike Gokdueras relationship with Tsuna, Romario seemed more like a substitute father to Dino than a subordinate. Gokudera would never go behind Tsunas back to let what was essentially a prisoner contact another member of an ally family, so why was Romario?

The actual work isn’t particularly challenging, you point out that Italian keyboards lack kanjis and Hibaris immediate response is that you can hand write everything and scan it in. Even 5000 miles away, in a different country, in a different language, Hibari Kyouya could find a way to get you to do work. Romario watches over you as you work. It’s not uncomfortable, but you’re aware anything you say could be passed onto Dino. So, you stay quiet as you work, asking minimal questions, a work style Hibari always seemed to appreciate, even if he never said it aloud. You look at your senpai through the small window of the screen. He is annoyingly handsome, even in the low resolution quality of what you can only assume is Romarios personal laptop. You wonder if he’s missed you while you’ve been away.

A familiar voice interrupts your train of thought.

“Angel-chan?!” A happily surprised smile takes up a quarter corner of the screen, quickly sliding to a nose and then two gorgeous brown eyes. Yamamoto waves from behind the screen. “Hey!” He say in a csual friendly voice as a grin takes over his face, as if you didn’t suddenly disappear from his life without explanation.

You manage a staggered “Hey.” Back before Hibari shoves him out the way and irritatedly tells him to leave.

“Is Angel-chan okay?” Yamamoto asks, a tint of concern under his usual light hearted tone. Hibari doesn’t give him an answer, instead turning back to his laptop screen, fully expecting Yamamoto to leave. The rain guardian doesn’t, and instead appears behind Hibari waving. His grin slips to surprise again as he moves closer and points at something. “Is that my tshirt?” He asks. You look down, sure enough, you don’t recognise the blue oversized shirt from your usual collection of clothes. You must have grabbed it by accident when you were packing. You explain that to both of them.

“Ah, I was looking for it the other day. I knew I’d left it in your bedroom since I normally use it for sleeping anyway.” Yamamoto says nonchalantly, seemingly unaware of the dangerous aura building around Hibari as he speaks. The call ends there. The laptop on the other end being shut so quickly both you and Romario jump a little.

The walk back to the cell is quiet but not unpleasant as Romario declines the use of restraints. It’s not until you’re almost at the door that Romario says anything. “ You and Kyouya, you’re not . . .” He doesn’t manage to finish his sentence but his hand waves in the air slightly, as if he’s looking for a word he can’t find in his native language. “Kusukabe seemed under the impression you two were . . .” again the word escapes him. But you catch on after a second.

“No, I’m not. . . we uh.” You forget the Italian for the exact word you’re trying to say but let your own hands make the same vague gesture. Romario nods and locks the door behind him. You can only sigh as you return to the cold concrete floor. It had been nice to get out for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, i don't think that's how either Romario or Kusukabe wanted that to end TT_TT Shame Hiabris so stubborn and Yamamoto's so naive. . .or is he ? ;) I know some of you weren't big fans of the last update so i really hope this makes up for it <3 again thanky ou for the kudos and bookmarks and ca you believe we're almost at 2000hits? You guys are fantastic and so wonderful, Arigatooooooo~<3


	61. Negotiations (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's be friends

Yamamoto Takeshi could make friends with anybody, or at least, that’s what his dad told him. Growing up he’d made friends with the neighbourhood dog, the old lady next door. He’s even had a pet squirrel for a few months before winter came. So, with all this in mind, befriending Hibari Kyouya shouldn’t have been hard.

Hibari doesn’t do much. For the past two hours the prefect has been asleep on the school rooftop, or rather, pretending to be asleep. Yamamoto has offered a friendly game of baseball, which was declined. He’s suggested getting sushi, which was idly declined. He’s even offered to help Hibari with his disciplinary duties, but that was very quickly declined. Yamamoto’s knee bounces repeatedly as he sits cross legged on the roof top and tries to think of something Hibari might like to do. He’s about to offer to teach Hibari the rules of baseball (Maybe he doesn’t know?) when Hibari abruptly stands up and exits the roof.

Yamamoto’s right behind him, welcoming him back from his nap and asking where he’s going. Hibari bats him away like a fly and sulks to the disciplinary room. Kusukabe is there and the quiff haired boy bows to acknowledge Yamamoto. The rain guardian takes a seat expectantly on the disciplinary sofa and tucks one leg under the other, waiting patiently to see what Hibari does next. There’s no grand announcement, but as Hibari opens his laptop, Yamamoto’s heart skips a beat.

There’s some murmuring, and the unmistakable sound of your voice. Yamamoto can feel the grin spread across his face as he jumps up from the sofa and darts over to Hibari’s desk. He practically shoves his head in front of Hibaris as he sprawls across the desk.

“Angel-chan! Can you see me? I’m waving!” Yamamoto informs you cheerily. He has no idea how these things work, but it couldn’t hurt to tell you as well in case you can’t see him. “Hi Yamamoto-kun.” You reply, looking surprised to see him again.

“Tell the herbivore to leave.” Hibari demands. Yamamoto ignores the strange burning sensation on the back of his neck and instead asks how you’ve been, and where you are, and when you’re coming back, did you know he has a baseball game soon, are you safe, did you find something fun to do wherever you are, when are you coming back, did you know Gokudera lost his book the other day, Lambos asking where you are, when are you coming back?

It’s not until the screen moves, to reveal an older man Yamamoto vaguely recognises as one of Dino’s friends. “Yamamoto Takeshi, this is a private call.” The moustached man tells him. Yamamoto would look at you for confirmation, but you’re not on the screen.

“Right, right.” He chuckles, pulling his torso off the table and laughing off the slight awkwardness that fills the room. Very slowly, he bows to Hibari and Kusukabe politely, and makes a big shout goodbye to you before he leaves the room. It’d been nice to see you again for a while.

Yamamoto can’t put his finger on it. As he flicks the baseball in his hand into the air and catches it again. Normally summer vacation is his favourite time, but this holiday feels really . . . not fun. He lets out a sigh and then laughs at himself. This was silly, he could still have fun on summer vacation. He just needed to find something fun to do.

The next day, Yamamoto finds something very fun to do. Hibird is alone on the roof when he arrives, she seems curious when Yamamoto pulls out his baseball and tosses it back and forth in his hands. Yamamoto smiles and places the ball on the ground for Hibird to examine. Playfully, she taps the ball with her beak.

“What is it?” Yamamoto asks encouragingly, ever so gently nudging the ball to let it roll.

Hibird delights in this action, tap, tap, tapping the ball with her beak and singing happily when it rolls even the tiniest little bit. Yamamoto takes a seat next to her, watching with great amusement as she pulls out another ball and lets her play. Something in the atmosphere shifts, Yamamoto feels the hairs on his arm stand up before he hears the voice.

“What are you doing herbivore?” Hibari appears in the door to the stairwell, his voice integrating and dripping with annoyance.

Yamamoto keeps himself friendly, smiling at Hibari and pointing at Hibird. “She likes baseball!” He informs Hibari. The cloud guardian seems to take the idea as a threat and proceeds to disturb Hibird as he draws out his tonfas and readies himself to fight.

“Leave my animals alone.” Hibari says, in a tone so aggressive not even Yamamoto can pretend to miss it. There’s no invitation for a further chat as Hibari storms off the roof, Hibird riding in his hair. Yamamoto sighs and rubs the back of his head, Hibari sure was a strange one.

 

The school hallway is pleasantly warm, even with all the windows open, as Yamamoto walks slowly down a corridor, he hears voices coming from the disciplinary room. A soft welcoming voice he could recognise anywhere. His heart lurches from his chest as he reaches for the door, remembering he doesn’t technically have permission to be in there. He sighs and rubs the back of his head, surely Hibari wouldn’t mind if- A strange smell fills his nose and grabs his attention, smoke. A quick look out the window and Yamamoto can see two young students on the grounds below, sharing a cigarette. Now that wasn’t allowed. Seeing an opportunity, Yamamoto coughs loudly, maybe a little excessively, as he moves back to the disciplinary room door. The chatter stops, and Hibaris voice informs him to leave. “Sorry.” Yamamoto coughs. “It’s just that cigarette smoke makes my throat feel weird.” He explains, feeling the tinge of success as the urgent sound of chair legs scraping across the floor follows the quick footsteps of well shined shoes before he can even finish his sentence. The dark aura around Hibari hangs violently for a moment as the cloud guardian assess him. Steel eyes pierce his, asking one important question without word. “Where?”

Yamamoto doesn’t say anything but lets his eyes guide Hibari’s over to the open window. Hibaris face grows in irritation as he clocks the smoking students. It’s one swift movement as he jumps out the open window and lands with practiced authority in front of the students. Yamamoto doesn’t stick around to hear the consequences, instead he walks into the now open disciplinary room and calls out to you. He hears his name come from a semi closed laptop on the desk at the front of the room. As he opens it up, he’s greeted with the gorgeous sight of you face. Slightly confused, but gorgeous all the same.

There’re a few wonderful moments of peaceful exchange. You’re face lights up when he speaks, a smile spreading across your face as your posture shifts to a relaxed lean from the stiff one you’d be putting on. Yamamoto misses the way you’d sit with him, how easy it was to wrap himself around you, how he always seems to gravitate to you were ever you were. Even through the luminous screen, he finds himself leaning forward, to be closer to you.

 “Everyone really misses you.” He says earnestly, resting his elbows on the desk. The words seem to cut as he says them, a flinch of pain in your eyes as though the very idea of letting your friends down hurts you physically. You apologise, a soft sorry form your lips as your eyes look down to the floor. Yamamoto rubs the side of his neck, letting his head sink into the palm of his hand. “It’s okay, you’re safe right?” He asks, hoping to lighten the mood.

You nod, but you don’t seem sure as you open your mouth but close it again as you make eye contact with someone beyond the screen. “I really shouldn’t be talking to you Yamamoto-kun.” You say, tone suddenly formal and authorative as you force yourself to make steady eye contact. There’s a moment of silence as Yamamoto’s eyes search yours, even through the screen he can see this act is put on. “Is there something you need that’s important?” You ask him, seemingly trying to justify the conversation. The rain guardian racks his brain, realising this could be his last chance to talk to you . . . ever.

“You left something!” The words rush out before Yamamoto can think of how to back them up. You look at him curiously, perhaps believing him. “Yeah! It’s uh . . .I don’t know what it is.” He continues, waving his hand in the air and laughing to cover up his lack of explanation. Doubt creeps into your face and Yamamoto already knows he’s lost.

“I’m sorry Yamamoto, I can’t really talk anymore. It’s not allowed.” You tell him, Yamamoto watches the look on your face. A look that tells him you want to believe him, that you’ve left something and you really really need to come back to japan right away.

“You’l figure something out, right?” Yamamoto asks, encouraging you, not wanting to let you go. “You aways figure something out. Remember that time you were being blackmailed an-“ He’s cut off by a loud frantic shhhhh-ing as you wave your hands in front of the screen. You scold him with a panciked look. A deep breath and you tel him you’re ending the call. He says you name, wanting one last look before it’s over. “We all miss you.” He says with a small smile on his face. You’re about to say something back when a hand reaches across the screen and turns it back. Yamamoto tries to keep his smile on through the disspoitnment. It’s had been nice to see you, even for a little while

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I died writing the line "Befriending Hibari Kyouya shouldn't have been hard." CAN YOU IMAGINE?! Yamamoto pestering Hibari like an overly excited puppy pesters a moody terriotiral cat? Poor boy never had a chance TT_TT


	62. Red Handed (Hibari)

Hibari is already annoyed when Dino insists on flying him out to Italy. He’s even more annoyed when Dino sits him in front of a surveillance camera, telling him nothing more than to watch. The footage isn’t anything interesting. It’s you, in a jail cell, picking at a wall. Hibari glares at Dino silently, violently asking him what the hell this has to do with him. Dino gestures to the screen again, seemingly excited with what’s about to happen.

Hibari watches you bite the skin around your fingernail and smear the blood down the side of your thigh. He watches you repeat the action on several fingers, until there’s a distinct trail of blood from between your legs down one sife of your leg. Hibari turns his attention away from the screen. This is bizarre and something he has no desire to watch. Dino gestures to the screen again, speeding up the playback. Hibari doesn’t look at the screen, instead glares Dino down from his seated position. “ This is a waste of my time” he tells the horse.  
“Kyouya! You need to see this!” Dino insists, pulling up more footage. This time it shows several male guards awkwardly escorting you down a hall, upstairs and into what looks like a doctors office. The male doctor looks equally as uncomfortable as you clutch your lower stomach and wretch forward. Hibari understands what’s going on, but he doesn’t need to see anymore. Annoyed and more than ready to bite Dino to death for wasting his time with such nonsense, he shoves the seat back and makes to leave. “ Kyouya! You see that don’t you?!” Dino implores him. “ She’s faking . . . “ Dino looks awkward for a moment and gestures vaguely to his lower abdomen. “ to get out of protection! She can’t be trusted!”  
Hibari rolls his eyes, what you did while under Dinos protection was none of this concern. He tells Dino this as he moves to leave again. Dino grabs his shoulder, his face a look of concern and exasperation. “You don’t understand. I’m protecting her and even with that she’s trying to escape!” Dino says, his speech continues. The horse babbles about family and trust and how important allies and some nonsense about the boss of another family being stupid enough to trust you,and how he’s concern about some herbivore names Tsuna, but Hibari doesn’t bother listening. If Dino isn’t going to fight him, he’s leaving.

  
It amuses Hibari that Dino gets so worked up over you. As if you’re anything other than a little animal, Hibari could keep you in check if he wanted to. But that would be a waste of his time, he has far more important things to do. Hibari tells Dino this and leaves before he can say anything else.

It’s not until Hibari is halfway down the second set of stairs that he realises he’s lost. The way he was brought in looking unfamiliar as he turns another corridor to find a dead end. He’d never have this trouble in Namimori, just why did the horse feel the need to have such a complex and ugly oversized western house. Annoyed, Hibari knocks through the door in front of him. A window would do, he could knock out a window and be done with this place, causing Dino a large bill in the process. On the other side of the door however, is you.  
A crowd of herbivores have gathered round your bed, laughing and joking over something you’ve said. There’s an annoying look of joy on your face as you follow up with a line in Italian that breaks the crowd out into hysterics. You don’t notice Hibari until he’s glares you down from the doorway. You’re surprised to see him, switching immediately back to Japanese to greet him. You don’t get up, but Hibari can only assume that’s part of the act your putting on, as he notes the hot water bottle on your stomach and the painkillers beside your bed. He clears the room out with one threat of his weapon, and a few Italian words from you.

  
The bed you’re in is grand, like the rest of the mansion, it’s hideously luxurious and garish with four posters, matching curtains and bed spread. The kind of design that makes Hibari miss Japans  architectural simplicity. You regard him, asking why he’s here. Hibari makes it very clear he’s not here for you. He’s known from the start Dino was hiding you and escaping the confines of your protection was a stupid and impulsive move. Hibari doesn’t make eye contact but he can hear you sigh as he moves across the room and stares out the window. Maybe instead of asking him why he’s here, you should show your appreciation for your senapis company.

He folds his arms, waiting patiently for you to ask the all important question. You don’t catch on, instead asking him again why he’s here. Hibari could scold you for you insolence. Your cast was off, you were well enough to lie and trick your way out of captivity. You were well enough to return to Japan despite the threat to your life.You should be begging him to take you back considering your lack of work towards the disciplinary committee and your sudden absence in Namimori Council. 

  
Instead, you’re stubborn. You ask him why he’s here, if he was followed. Stupid questions to distract from what you should be asking him. It’s not until the fourth time you ask that Hibari makes his intentions clear. “You’ve no need to be here. You’re coming back to Namimori.” He tells you, throughly annoyed once again you’ve clearly missed the opportunity to ask him. You state you’re staying here, for your safety and his. Hibari grunts, as if he needed protecting, as if he couldn’t protect you and Namimori from every threat present on this earth. The fact you doubted him was worthy of being bitten to death right there and then.  
You tell him you’re not going back to Japan. You tell him you’re doing what’s right for the Vongola. Hibari couldn’t care less. You would come back to Japan with him, one day or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who constantly flicks back and forth between “ Hibari Kyouaya would swear if Akira would let him” and “ Swearing is bad etiquette and Hibari sees it as beneath him”W because let’s face it: Gokudera would swear if he could, Yamamoto probably thinks swearing is like super super bad don’t do it unless you’re really in trouble and even then it’s risky. But would Hibari swear??? Either way, he’s not very happy with you (ﾉ｀Д´)ﾉ


	63. Conviction (Gokudera)

Gokudera was supposed to be helping his boss. That had been the plan, he’s been up all night drawing out diagrams, weighing up teaching theories and picking out stickers for his fantastically gifted boss. But no, Dino had called,  _UNANNOUNCED_ , and suddenly it was all “Dino wants to talk to Tsuna alone.” “It’s a matter for Mafia bosses only.” “The snow guardian has escaped protection and is a serious threat to everyone.”Gokudera mocks the words bitterly as he imitates Dinos annoying voice, picking at a small dent in the wooden door outside Tsunas room. He couldn’t just  _leave_  leave. Reborn may have kicked him out the room but that didn’t mean he would just abandon Juiidame, unguarded. He’s got to be the best righthand man ever, and that meant not leaving Tsuna’s side, ever. 

Gokudera presses his ear to the cold metal of the doors keyhole to get a better idea of what’s going on. Your voice leaks through the door, catching him off guard as you shout a friendly “Hi boss!”. He stops himself before he falls from his crouched position but curses you under his breath all the same.  _Clueless woman_. 

“So, what’s the problem?” Reborn asks, sounding unimpressed with Dinos interruption to his tutoring and Gokudera can’t help but wonder the same thing, as he silently wills reborn to tell Dino exactly where he can shove his sudden video call. A mumbled response leaks through the door and Gokudera doesn’t bother stopping himself from leaning on the door handle and opening it ever so slightly to try and see exactly what’s going on. It’s a bold move, that doesn’t pay off as he leans a little too quickly on the old frame and rolls head first into the room. 

Juidame jumps, startled and clearly ready to fight whatever intruder could have been listening in. “Ah it’s just me Juidame. I’m so sorry!” Gokudera scrambles to his knees and bows repeatedly to his boss for snooping and causing a disturbance. 

“I-it’s fine!” Tsuna says, ever forgiving and understanding. Dino brushes the incident aside, focusing his attention on Reborn, mustering all his ignorance to request Reborn order you back into protection. The home tutor is unamused as he steps down from his hammock in Tsuna’s room and addresses the laptop screen directly. “Clearly, if our snow guardian can escape your protection, that’s your fault not ours.” Reborn challenges the Cavallone boss. Dino struggles for an answer to this one. The next line catches Gokudera’s attention and makes his rib cage tighten in irritation. “I trust Hibari made it over safely?” Reborn says, more an acknowledgement than a question.  _Why was_ _Hibari_ _over there,_ _Hibari_ _of all people? The bastard who broke your arm and had about as much empathy as a wooden plank._  

You nod, and gestures to your side.  _THE BASTARD WAS RIGHT THERE?!_  Gokudera feels his fists clench into tight balls as he bites his tongue, not wanting to interrupt Juidames conversation with the anger fuelled words already building up in his mouth. The talk becomes a blur. Dino agrees to let you out, under the condition you’re monitored constantly, a job Reborn offers to Hibari, who looks like he’s about to decline when Dino decides it’s too dangerous. At which point Hibari glares the Cavallone boss down, a stare so hard Gokudera can feel it through the screen. 

“Can I speak to Gokudera alone?” You ask, switching to Italian for some un-explained reason. Dinos about to say no when you retaliate, , informing him that if you  _were_  planning something to take down the Vongola, did Dino really think you’d tell Gokudera of a people. An agreement is made and before he knows it, Gokudera is alone with you. 

Panic sets in, Gokudera hasn’t seen you in weeks and now suddenly you just show up and  _demand_  a call with him?! He runs a shaky hand through his hair and fixes the collar of his t-shirt, coughing awkwardly. What the fuck did you want him for? He feels awkwardly naked and exposed without his boss or Reborn next to him. There’s a moment of silence as you seem to watch Dino and Hibari leave. You look fine, a little tired, but fine. Not that he was worried. It’s just . . .as one of bosses' guardians, it’s important you’re safe, that’s all. The conversation is strange. You ask him about a sci-fi series you’d been watching  ~~and Gokudera had coincidentally gotten into~~ , but you don’t make eye contact, instead you’re writing something and for the first time he notes the handcuffs around your wrist. After a moment of idle chat, you hold up the paper.  _Under the washing machine in the laundry room there’s a bag, I need you to send that to me here._  

“I still can’t believe the werewolf turns out to be the occult leader behind it all.” You say to him, a little too loudly as you wait for him to respond. Gokudera brain takes a minute to process what’s going on, and it takes a questioning raise of your eyebrow to finally get it into gear enough for him to nod. You grin, giving him a thumbs up and thanking him for the chat. The video call ends there. The room going eerily silent with the sudden absence of your mindless babbling. A familiar pain surges in Gokudera chest, a pain he’d been working very hard on  _not_  paying attention to. But it’s bigger now, weighing down his body as he finds the will to move from his spot on the floor.  

It takes Gokudera a while to get his thoughts together. Without the distraction of teaching his boss or the constant threat of injury from Reborn, he’s alone with them. He lets out a frustrated sigh as he turns the key to the Vongola base. Reborn had scolded him for the conversation, reminding him his top priority is Tsuna and not to fall out of line, or fall for another guardian. Gokudera had shouted at him, insisting he didn’t have feelings for you, that you’d just left something you’d wanted him to return. But Reborn hadn’t seemed convinced. Stupid baby. 

 

He walks in, and stares at the hallway to the laundry room. He didn’t have to do it. You weren’t his boss. If anything, you owed him a favour.  _He_  got your notebook back,  _He_  took your drunk ass home after your first dance  ~~granted that was half his fault but that’s beyond the point~~.   _He_ was the one who’d looked after you for a day when you got your arm broken  ~~which again was kind of half his fault but still,~~   _He_  was the one who’d tried to cook for you when you were injured  ~~and nearly ended up burning down the Vongola kitchen~~  ,  _He_ was the one who’d put Hibari in his pace after he’d basically punished you for wanting to go to the school dance  ~~which you never even asked him to btw that should have been a curtesy after he asked you to the first one~~.  _You_ owed  _him_  favours, not the other way around. And if Gokudera believed himself, he would have gone straight to his room. Ignored curiosity and the weird, alien feeling of knowing you were depending on him. But Gokudera is not a smart man, at least not when it counts. And he can just feel that strange power you have on him work from overseas, 9,723 km away, 6041.5 . . 92 miles, 9722999.8356 meters, 1.027621 light years, give or take. Gokudera pays with the numbers in his head, wondering realistically how far hormones could travel in order to blame his decision on them. He concludes, with a grimace, that it’s a lot.  The laundry room is dark, and strangely warm as the hum of the dryer fills the air.  A quick peak under the washing machine tells Gokudera that when you said “under the washing machine” you actually meant the floorboards under the washing machine. 

 Gokudera lets out another frustrated sigh and convinces himself that if he does this, it’ll prove he’s over you. Sending you something while you’re over in Italy proves he doesn’t want you coming back. If he cared about you, surely he’d keep ransom whatever precious item you had stupidly left behind. He convinces himself of this fact as he braces his back against the far wall and shoves the machine off kiter with his legs. It takes several attempts and for a desperate moment he actually considers asking Yamamoto for help, but thankfully his pride doesn't have to take that hit as he gives the machine one final angry shove. When he lifts back the floorboards, he’s expecting a personal item, maybe something important, fake passport, a scrapbook, a teddy bear. What he finds, is a small via filled with a pink liquid. Curious, he pulls off the stopper and sniffs. The smell is oddly familiar, like blackberries or the forest after a storm. HIs mind lingers on it for a moment before he shakes the thought from his head. The last thing he wants to do is spend the rest of his night wondering where he’s smelt it before, so he shoves the bottle into his jacket pocket and turns his attention to something he’s far more likely to succeed at, teaching Tsuna advanced trigonometry. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, This chapter went through several re-writes. I couldn't quite figure out how to place Gokdueras thought process. Obviously he's very very very over you and glad you're gone but also he doesn't want to not do this for you because someone is relying on him? and obviously if you were anyone but Tsuna's guardian he wouldn't do it. But he's a good right hand man so obviously he's going to do what you ask, for Tsuna, and to prove he's over you. Now let him hide behind textbooks and teaching so he can bury his feelings okay?


	64. Home Comforts (Hibari)

Hibari could handle you, in fact he’s probably the only person powerful and fearsome enough to control you. The stupid horse didn’t know what he was talking about. He waits outside your room door, you’d asked for privacy while changing and Hibari wasn’t so much of an animal that he couldn’t give you that. As amusing as it would be to barge in and watch the embarrassment on your face. It would be  _very_ amusing to see the embarrassment on your face. But he shifts the idea out of his head, walking in on a changing female is something a delinquent would do, not a respected chairman of the disciplinary committee. That thought holds over until he hears a faint metalic  _clinck_ through the door.  

When he shoves open the door, he finds you looking incredibly guilty with a lockpick sticking out the handcuffs around your wrists. “Deja vu?” You joke, as you roll out the way of his attack. Did you honestly think you could escape him?! What kind of insolent kohai were you? With one miscalculation, Hibari ends up underneath you, shoulders pinned by your knees as you shove a finger over his mouth. The rim of the cold metal cuffs resting rudely against his chin. 

“Shhh, Shhh I can explain.” You rabble, a desperate expression on your face as you quietly beg him not to raise the alarm.  Hibari glares at you, wordlessly threatening to bite you to death. His plan is soon changed as his eyes shift to your pyjama top and he realises –from this position- you're showing far more than any well behaved Namimori student should. You notice a split second after he does and shove yourself off him, using your still-cuffed hands to cover the exposed tops of your breasts. 

“Clothe yourself properly.” Hibari scolds you, annoyed to have to see you chose such scantily clad sleepwear. You explain you were in the middle of doing so, but handcuffs make it a little difficult to change tops. Folding his arms, Hiabri looks you up and down. Finally turning away, allowing you the barest of privacy after your clear defiance of his authority.  

“Speaking of senpai, shouldn’t you get ready for bed?”  You ask as you walk into his field of view. Somehow, you’re under the impression that a tank top and shorts are decent attire in front of your senpai. “Senpai?” you ask again, tilting your head curiously. Hibari doesn’t answer, he’ll get ready for bed when he wants to, when he’s tired. He purposefully stifles a yawn as you tilt your head further. 

You pull back, politely asking where Dino’s men put his stuff when he arrived. Hibari doesn’t answer, why are you asking him all these silly questions anyway. Bored with your line of questioning, Hibari makes himself comfortable on the western monstrosity Dino calls a bed and continues to ignore you. The air is still as your face moves to a more thoughtful frown. Hibari ignores it. Pretending he can’t see you from behind the massive red curtains that hang garishly from all four posters of the bed. 

“Senpai, did you . . . pack a bag before you came over?” You ask, gingerly putting forward your question. 

Hibari doesn’t bother answering that. He doesn’t have to answer that. Instead he glares you down, demanding you drop the subject. Which you do, for all your ignorance tonight at least you catch on to that. The prefect settles amongst the pillows, back against the headboard as he waits for you to go to sleep. Instead, you walk over to the large wooden door, dipping your head out for a moment. Hibari readies himself to stop you, tonfas already in his hands and off the bed in a flash. He listens as he approaches, quietly across the polished oak floorboards so as to still have the advantage when behind you. It's all in Italian, there's a moment of two of communication before you look back. Momentarily, you're startled by his close presence, but your shock turns into a soft smile as you reply to the guard outside the door "Viola". A few more words and both of you are laughing, a polite wave as you close the door. 

 “I know someone in the town over, it shouldn’t take long.” You say. Hibari doesn't ask questions, instead he stalks you as you saunter over to the balcony. There's no explanation and he's forced to silently wait while you fail to explain what you've just done. A soft atmosphere sets in as he watches you, slink against the ornate balcony railing, arms resting on the marble stand, head in hand as you gaze up at the sky. The stars in the early Italian summer sky are decedent, perhaps more than back in Namimori, Hibari watches you watching the stars. He's never seen you look up at the stars in Namimori like that. For a moment Hibari lets himself look up, the stars are like dust across the night sky. Present still in the fading purple and blue of the evening. It's beautiful. His eyes slide back to you, a sight in yourself. Lips parted slightly, a notable sparkle in your eye as you continue your idle star gazing. There’s a depth of beauty in your own eyes as Hibari forgets to restrain himself for a moment, stealing himself closer to you on the balcony. For all the trouble you cause it’s astoun- 

  

A loud knock interrupts his train of thought. Hibari watches as a grin spreads across your face and you practically flounce to the door, not noticing the way he had been staring. A "grazie" is exchanged and you return with a package in your hand. "It's just what they could scrounge up." You explain as you hold the parcel out for him. Hibari looks sharply at the parcel, then at you.  

 You shimmy the package in your outstretched hand slightly, indicating him to take it. He obliges, but only because you're being so insistent. Inside is a set of folded clothes, purple in colour and silken to the touch. Pyjamas, the more formal kind, with a piped line around the lapels. It's pressed neatly and Hibari is about to unfold it when you gesture to the bathroom. Clearly, you still have some modesty left. He accepts. Choosing to disrobe in the privacy of the overly sized bathroom. Which for some reason Dino felt needed to contain a steam room, sauna, hot tub and shower within the same few doors. But no bath. Hibari sighs disappointedly. He could skip washing altogether, but that fet wrong, plus he thoroughly enjoys the idea of making you wait for him, surely you wouldn't go to bed without your senpai. He showers first, as though he were bathing traditionally back home.The hot tub does not compare to a bath, nor does it meet the peaceful mood of a hot spring, with its loud rumbling mechanisms and aggressive jets that poke and prod Hibari as he tries to relax. After three vain attempts to turn off the infernal contraption, Hibari settles for a hard whack of his tonfa against the control panel and is satisfied when the jets waver. Dramatically thrusting water over the floor before dying in one pleasing hiss. 

The pyjamas are silk and smooth against his skin. Hibari muses keeping them for himself, but rejects the idea of holding onto anything Dino may have unwillingly given him. He takes his time dressing, wondering how you’ve been entertaining yourself this time while you’d left your senpai to bathe and change private. Perhaps you were a little shy about seeing your senpai disrobe. The thought teases Hibari mind pleasantly as he unlocks the wet room door. 

 He can't immediately see you when he comes out, but Hibari doesn't worry. You're behind the curtain bed day dreaming about your senpai. However, when he pulls the curtain back, you're gone. Hibari turns around swiftly, looking for any sign of you. Five minutes, then ten, before a strange grunt sound comes from below the balcony. With practiced pace, Hibari wanders over, refusing the urge to peer over and instead leaning against the balcony door, arms crossed, disinterested look on his face. 

"Ah Kyouya-Senpai." You grin sheepishly as you haul an in descript sports bag onto the balcony and blow out your cheeks. "I thought you'd be longer in the shower." You make a feeble attempt to hide the bag behind your shoes but you're already in different clothing, missing your handcuffs and showing several notable bruises on your exposed skin. 

 Hibari could scold you, could take his tonfas out and beat you into submission.  

"I suppose you want an explanation." You continue on, taking a deep breath as you reattach the cuffs around your wrist. 

 "I don't care what you do, unless it's returning to Namimori." He tells you, coldly. Reminding you there is still a lot of work to do when you get back. And you had the library to fix, the sanctuary being more than slightly ravaged in your absence, with the understanding that when you signed up to be the library assistance you would keep the library tidy, no matter where you were. 

 Hibari ends the conversation there. Purposefully moving to the oversized bed and stretching himself out to cover up almost every inch of it. He closes his eyes and pretends not to pay attention to how you shuffle awkwardly around him once you return from changing in the bathroom and turn off the lights. "Kyouya-Senpai could you m-" Your feeble attempt at coercing him ends there as you sigh and resign yourself to sleep somewhere else. He watches you with on partially open eye, fluffing pillows on the generously sized sofa as much as you can manage with restricted hand movement.  

It’s not until you’ve almost fully settled on your make shift bed, that Hibari lets out a purposefully loud yawn and rolls over to one side of the bed. He’s pleased when he feels the shift in pressure on the mattress and the slight shuffle of thin sheets beneath him. “Night Kyouya-senpai.” You mumble before turning off the last of the lights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hibari Kyouya is a die hard japanesse culture lover ( weeb) and you can't convince me otherwise. Boy has all the money and power int\ he world and what does his TYL self do? Builds a traditional Japanese mansion in the middle of the vongola stronghold. Look me in the eye and tell me he doesn't DESPISE having to visit Italy simply because it's not japan -and the food is weird and everyone's way too informal- Pus it's been a hot minute since reader character and Hibari had some fuff <3


	65. Coincidence (Yamamoto)

Nobody really explained anything to Yamamoto. Reborn simply rising out the middle of their kitchen table and informing him and Gokudera that Dino had requested their presence. Gokudera seemed to begrudgingly know what that meant, and Yamamoto was just happy to be invited. He really enjoys the mafia role playing game.

Gokudera is surprisingly quiet throughout the trip, only stopping to complain about the price of airport food a handful of times and shouting at Yamamoto when he forgets his passport – mumbling that he could remember his baseball bat, but not a god damn  _fucking_ passport. Yamamoto just laughs and points out it means they get to spend more time together, for some reason Gokudera doesn’t seem amused. It’s not until they’ve landed that Yamamoto thinks to ask where they are. Everything is written in a language he can’t understand and it’s so warm that the heat distorts the runway as they walk from the landing strip to the airport.

“Are we still in Japan?” Yamamoto asks, helpfully picking up both their bags. Gokudera gives him a deadpan look. “You seriously think we’re still in japan?! We were on that plane for six hours!”

Yamamoto just laughs. “I fell asleep.” He says, fully expecting that to answer Gokudera’s question. He carries the bags over to a sleek balck car guarded by Romario, who insists on taking the bags. Yamamoto just laughs and packs them into the boot himself, much to the right hand mans horror.

The car journey is uneventful, unti they break down in the middle of a small town, the car engine overheating due to “the fucking horse deciding to use a black car in the middle of the fucking Italian summer.” or so Gokudera put it. Yamamoto suggest they hit up a small bar on the other side of the road, feeling Gokudera’s bad mood was probably brought on by dehydration and some cold water and a stretch of the legs could only help the situation.

The bar is packed, noisy and smelly. The kind of smell even Yamamoto struggles to mask his reaction to as he makes a point to hold his breath when moving through crowds of people to find a seat. He’s tallest, so it easiest for him to go in front and guide Gokudera. They’re not having much luck until he spots a sign for more seating downstairs.There’s a large ring in the middle of the room. Ring isn’t the right word, it’s a ring of maybe waist high wooden planks. The middle is filled with a layer of sand. As Yamamoto looks around, he clocks something else. A wager board, he doesn’t know Italian, but he’s overheard enough conversations at Ryohei matches to understand what the numbers mean. It’s a boxing ring! Walking over to an empty table Yamamoto seats himself comfortably, trying to get a good view of the fight that’s about to unravel. He doesn’t see a referee anywhere, but sometimes they’re late to the ring.

“Hey, do you notice something weird?”Gokudera the storm guardian asks, tapping his cigarette against the table. Nobody seems to mind when he lights up, several other patrons doing the same.Yamamoto turns to face the storm guardian. “Yeah, most boxing rings don’t have sand.” He comments thoughtfully, sipping his bottle of water in an attempt to tackle the sheer heat of which ever country there were in. It’s not the answer Gokudera is looking for as his eyes dart in anticipation around the room. The Storm guardian hunches over the table, avoiding eye contact with anyone.

“Not that you idiot! Look around, do any of these people look like people fucking Dino would associate with?” Gokudera gestures quietly around him. Yamamoto looks around, making eye contact, smiling at a few of the older men who don’t smile back.

“Ah! Are they also playing the mafia game?” Yamamoto asks. Gokudera’s brow furrows, his eyes narrow as he glares down someone across the room. Despite the storm guardian taking a low draw of his cigarette, his jaw is still clenched and tense as he speaks. 

“Just fucking watch yourself.” Gokudera murmurs, only breaking eye contact once the man on the other side of the bar does. Yamamoto sits in quiet with Gokudera for a moment, wondering if he’ll explain. But he doesn’t.

“Do you think they're here for the match?” He asks, hoping to strike another conversation.

“Match?” Gokudera questions. His voice a few forced octaves lower as he taps his cigarette on the edge of the table. Yamamoto nods.

“The boxing match!” The rain guardian grins.

Gokudera peers round properly at the ring, eyeing up the score board and the strange writing ontop. When he looks back at Yamamoto, it’s with a look of annoyance and warning. “This isn’t the type of match you wanna watch.” Gokudera grumbles, stubbing the last of his fading cigarette out on the table.

A bell sounds, loud and sharp against the blurred murmur of conversation. everything stops, and many patrons rise form their seat to circle the ring. Money trades hands with several people, announcements are made by a short man standing on a table Yamamoto can’t quite see without straining. He thinks he recognises a few words but it hard to tell. New numbers are etched onto the board and music beings seeping in through tinny speakers. He gives Gokudera a curious look, but the storm guardian isn’t looking at him, he isn’t looking at anything. His eyes seemingly focused on the words drifting from the small man. 

Gokudera rises from his seat, eyes fixed on the ring as he shoves his way through the crowd. Worried, Yamamoto follows. It doesn't take long to see what’s got his attention. The first person in the ring is big, large enough to overshadow Yamamoto himself. But that’s not what catches his eye. On the other side of the ring, a recognisable figured in nothing more than workout gear with bandages wrapped around their hands, all the way up to their arms, where a cast is no longer situated.

“Ange-ch-” Yamamoto begins, but he’s cut off by someone shoving in front of him and a sharp hand over his mouth. 

“Are you insane?!” Gokudera snips. “do you want anyone here to know we know her?!”

Yamamoto’s about to nod when Gokduera gives him a sour look that tells him the question wasn’t meant to be answered.

The first bell sounds. You take up a stance Yamamoto recognises from your training with Ryohie, no doubt this would be a cool fight. A few blows are traded, it looks like pretty even footing. Even though Gokudera scolded him for calling out your name, Yamamoto secretly cheers for you. A small fist pump whenever you land a hit. 

Things quickly change, several painful blows in quick succession to your stomach and knees rein down as you falter after a hit. It’s beyond Yamamoto how you’re even standing after such a murder of blows.  He watches in restrained horror as another blow thunders across your cheek.  Yamamotos eye catches something. You’re not looking at your opponent, after every blow your eyes slide to someone standing on the outside of the ring, as if you’re waiting for something. It gets stranger from there. Yamamoto wants to interfere, to jump into the ring and protect you, but instinct pulls him back, making him watch your movements carefully.

“Fuck! This is insane.” Gokudera shouts, pulling out dynamite and making to move into the ring. Yamamotos hands is across his chest, stopping him. 

“Watch.” Is all he can say, as he finally sees it. You’re moving  _into_ the hits. He watches almost in slow motion, as you size up the blow coming and move yourself towards the strike of your opponent's fist. It’s less deadly than it should be, Yamamoto watches with pained curiosity as you calculate each presenting move and take it with controlled force, to anyone not paying attention, it seems like you’ve just stumbled clumsily into the next hit. It goes on for too long, you take the hits at a graded force but Yamamotos chest tightens are the bruises start to form across your skin. A gesture catches his eye, the boy on the outside of the ring covering his mouth to cough. Your eyes widen for a split second, and the atmosphere changes in the blink of an eye.

You dodge, faking to move left but turning right. A technique you’d learnt from Ryohei, from him. You grab your opponent's fist, allowing the punch to follow through and twisting their arm and body harshly to pin behind their back. A hard shove of your knee against their tail bone sends your enemy flying, colliding painfully with the wooden slats of the makeshift ring.  Roughly, you grab their hair and shove them to the ground, another kick to the stomach and they’re curling up in pain. Someone shouts in a steady pace, and Gokudera translates.

“3  . . .”

“2 . . .”

“1 . . .”

“Victory!”

The crowd goes wild. Half cheering and celebrating, the other half tearing up tickets and shouting aggressively at the ring. Yamamoto keeps his eyes pinned to you as you pick up an oversized denim jacket from the ring and lean over to talk to a few of the patrons, accepting high fives and nods of acknowledgement.  As he watches, he notices something strange about the way you shake hands.  Bothyour hands envelope one hand, and how a mysterious amount of watches and rings go missing once the handshakes is over. Seemingly unnoticed by the men congratulating you. After a few moments, you slip through the crowd and out a small back door. He’s on his feet immediately, following you. “We need to follow her!” Gokudera shouts, already trying to shove his way through the crowd every shifting crowd behind Yamamoto.

Yamamoto nods. “Yeah, that was a weird fight! She must be hurt” Yamamoto agrees.

“Screw the fight, that’s  _my_  jacket!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay, Happy Boxing day to those that celebrate it! This chapter is kinda shimmied around. Orginally there was gonna be a more mafia linked chapter with Hibari but it just wasn't . . . working? Like i think it was an okay chapter, but it was more about the reader character and Hibari's role just didn't feel like something Hibair would do. So i've subbed this chapter in and i really hope you like it cause it's kind of a last minute sub but shhhhh who doesn't love a bit of Yamamoto and his hitman intuition? Also can you imagine Gokduera and Yamamoto having to share a SIX HOUR plane ride?! I'm sure if Yamamoto had been awake it would have ended in tears TT_TT


	66. Solo Amici (Yamamoto)

Romario had been waiting for them at the front of the bar, having finally found some engine coolant at the local gas stop. “Should we tell him we saw Angel-chan?” Yamamoto asks in a hushed whisper.  
Gokudera rolls his eyes and lights up another cigarette, leaning out the car window to smoke it. “If you want to start world war three” The storm guardian remarks dryly. The car ride doesn't last long. Through various questions and conversation Yamamoto learns they’re in Italy and that Romario has known Dino since he was a little boy. Romario has no children of his own, but doesn’t seem to mind. Yamamoto’s almost sad as they pull up to the lavish mansion, Romario seems like a cool guy.

They’re led through an elegant corridor, lined with pictures of old men and groups of men all looking very serious. A door swings open and a friendly doctor greets them. “Ciao Hayato!” The doctor beams, gripping Gokudera in a bone crushing hug.  
“Get off me old man!” Gokudera shouts, baling his fists and attempting to fight his way out of the armours dismay of affection.

“I know you’d come to visit me eventually, c’mon I've got things to show you!” The doctor says, hauling a still fighting Gokudera into his lair.  
“Ah, we’ll leave them to it.” Romario says, looking a little awkward when Yamamoto asks how the two know each other.

“Shamal . . . raised him.” Romario replies before leading him down more identically framed corridors. The sound of another pair of footsteps drums through the hallway, and Yamamoto immediately recognises their tread. The grin spread across his face before he even rounds the corner. It’s uncontrollable and all-encompassing as your eyes meet his. The bag you’re carrying dropped without a second thought as it clunks to the floor. In under a second, you’re running towards him, smile bursting across your face as though it’s about to split in two.

The moment you jump into Yamamoto’s arms everything feels good again, his world realigns and it’s as though a weight didn’t know he’d been carrying is unshackled from his body. Yamamoto picks you up as though you’re weightless and spins you round with breathless laughter bubbling in his chest. “Hi.” He says, feeling giddy with joy as he pulls you in tight, feeling your legs wrap around his waist and cool arms link behind his neck.

“Hi.” You say back, laughing as you cling to him for dear life. Releasing your arms once the spinning has stopped so you can look at him properly.  
Yamamoto had missed you, so much, so very much. He wasn’t worried, you’re smart and resourceful and clever and really, really smart. But he did worry, just a little, especially after seeing you fight. That worry gives way to relief and happiness as he cements your presence in his touch, confirms with every sense he has that you’re really with him, really safe.

“Hi.” He says again, letting the simplistic satisfaction of the greeting wash over him as he pulls you right into another bear hug.

“You already said that.” You tell him, but Yamamoto can feel your smile again his neck.

“I know.” Yamamoto sighs contendidly, closing his eyes and rubbing his nose into your hair.  He tries not to hold you too tight, but it’s almost instinctual to keep you as close as possible after being without you for so long. It feels like only a minute or two, but an awkward cough reminds Yamamoto the two of you aren’t alone, and he sadly releases you from his embrace. A sneaky arm finding its way around your shoulders, just as a friendly gesture, just a tangible reminder you were there next to him. You don’t move it, and Yamamoto feels you lean against his side as Romario briefs him on proper mansion etiquette. The Cavallone right hand man makes a comment to you in Italian and you stammer, pulling a pair of hand cuffs out your pocket and promptly sealing them around your wrist before giving the moustached man an awkward smile.

As soon as you’re alone, Yamamoto pulls you in close. “Hi.” He says again, for lack of a better word and because it feels so good to be saying it to you in person.

“Yamamotooooo.” You scold him, with little more than feigned annoyance as you bring your hands up to pat his head.

“You scared me.” He says earnestly, dipping his head between the metal links binding your wrist and burying his head into the crook of your shoulder. You give him a dismissiv laugh, and tell him protective lockdown is just a cautionary measure. Yamamoto nods, not really wanting to move as he feels your fingers thread through his hair, sending little waves of comfort over his body. Eventually, he lets go enough for you to take him some where more private. He offers to carry your bag but you grab it out his hands before he can fully pick it up, saying you don’t mind.

The library is large, lined from top to bottom with old books. It’s exactly the kind of place Yamamoto could imagine you loving. You settle him on an ornate green sofa, the kind where the edges are gilded with gold and the arm rests are fancy with embossed designs. “Have you been okay?” He asks you, turning his head to get a better look at your face as you sit next to him. The sofa is big enough for six comfortably, but you cosy up to him anyway. There’s a mumble of classified on your lips as you sink against his side, followed by a relaxed sigh that Yamamoto finds himself echo-ing. Neither of you speak for a long time, the only sound the two of you breathing in tandem as your bodies reacquaint themselves.

“I missed you.” He says sincerely as the hand curled round the back of the sofa comes up to slide round you. You tell him that’s stupid, you could have been away for ages, and what would he do then?  
“I guess I’d miss you for ages” Yamamoto grins, kissing the top of your head. You complain, but make no real effort to shift the lax arm over you or move. “Did you miss me too?”

You mumble something he can’t quite hear and Yamamoto gets an idea. Tightening the arm around you and diving his hands to tickle the sensitive parts of your sides. The shocked laugh that escapes your lips warms the edges of his heart as you squirm and struggle and kick under the hold of his tickles. “Did you miss me too?” He asks, making no attempt to hide the grin on his face while he moves his free hand up to your underarms and pauses.

“Classified.” You giggle, trying desperately to move yourself away from his fingers.  
Yamamoto lets out a thoughtful hum, watching your face with smug glee as you hold your breath in anticipation.

“Mmmmm, not good enough.” He declares, before going in for the kill. A loud shriek echo's through the library and he’s never seen you thrash so hard as when he brings one leg up to pin down your waist and subjects you to the torture of two hands tickling your sides.

“Okay! Okay . . .Yamamoto please!” You beg, barely catching your breath as he slows down his tickles to a light stroke.  
“I missed you.” The words come out quiet and barely audible in the vast expanse of the library against gasping breaths. A quick stroke of his fingers over your sides erupts into a half gasp, half giggle as you make a poorly co-ordinated attempt to shove him off.  
“I . . . missed you. Okay?! I missed you!” The declaration is loud, and punctuated with laughs as you give in to his teasing. Yamamoto stops his actions, resting his arms over your waist. He’s about to ask you to repeat it one more time when Romario bursts in.

He shouts something in Italian, sounding concerned. You shove Yamamoto off you and reply back, putting a large deal of distance between you and him as you stammer something more to Romario. He leaves looking more than a little embarrassed by the scene in front of him. “He thought I was in trouble.” You explain, a little sheepishly as Yamamoto notices the dusting of pink on your cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean it's weird Shamal would be hanging out in the Cavallone mansion?? Are you implying i put him there just so the reader and Yamamoto could be alone?! How dare you (￣︶￣;) Honestly this chapter was so fun to write, BFFS reunited!!! Library cuddles and fun, precious bbies <3


	67. Doctor, Doctor (Gokudera,Hibari)

“What if she got blood on it?!” Gokudera snaps again, letting the scalpel fall from his hand as another wave of anger crashes over him. 

“I guess she’d have to clean it” Shamal answers thoughtlessly, lost in his work as he inspects another slide of bacteria. 

“Yeah but you can’t just . . .  _clean_  a denim jacket!” Gokudera shouts , shoving another slide under the microscope.

“Why not?” Shamal asks, still focused primarily on his work.  Gokudera pauses, searching for the logic against such a blunt question. “B-because. . . It’s not even her jacket in the first place!” 

Shamal lets out a tuneless hum. 

“She was wearing with workout gear. Who wears a denim jacket with work out gear?!” Gokudera snipes.

“Your snow guardian obviously.” Shamal replies dryly. Gokudera sulks, crossing his arms and refusing to do any more work. “Yeah but . . . It’s not even her fucking jacket!” He repeats letting a fresh wave of anger wash over him again. He’s officially too pissed off to look at one more fucking bacteria slide.

“Hayato, have you ever heard the phrase ‘the lady doth protest too much’?” Shamal asks finally looking up from his microscope.

“Hamlet, Queen Gerturude.” Gokudera answers, trying to figure it where his tutor is getting at qouting the classics. 

“That’s you.” Shamal says bluntly. Gokudera huffs, scraping his stool across the floor and loudly stripping off his white lab coat. “You can do this work yourself old man.” He grumbles, making to throw the useless fabric on the floor.

“I guess if you’re not concerned about her, you won’t want to know she asked you to meet her in the library.” Shamal teases, an annoyingly smug look on his face as he catches Gokuderas eye.

Gokudera chokes for a moment, trying to find the words do convince his tutor that his feelings for you were solely anger and frustration. “She mentioned something about wanting to run some tests on a formula. Told you to give me some in return and hand the rest over to her.” Shamal continues, sauntering over and taking the lab coat from Gokudera. “and something about reading together.”

Gokudera manages to close his mouth and resume his usual angry stare. He looks at Shamal. He looks around the med wing, weighing up how best to approach this. “Fine.” He grumbles. “but only so I can get my jacket back!” He insists, taking out the small vial he’d been hiding in his pocket since they’re arrival. Shamal examines it closely, twisting the botte towards the light. His tutor mumbles something and pours about half the bottle into a few test tubes before handing it back. Gokudera has questions, scientific ones, but he doesn't want Shamal mistaking his interest in the liquid for a bizarre interest in you. So, he leaves, huffing and puffing down the corridor.

The library is a trek and a half, when Gokudera finaly finds it, he’s disappointed. It’s a showy library, loudly boasting old, barely touched books. Large plush tweed sofas that have never been sat on for more than a few minutes, a roaring fire place purely for show regarding how clean and sterile it looks. The whole place feels like a tv set rather than an actual library. He spots you on one of the aforementioned sofas, no doubt having settled in a while ago judging by the position you’re in. Spread out on your back along the sofa, book held a few inches above your face. That’s the trouble with fancy sofa’s like this, finding a good reading position is hard. Gokudera thinks of the sofa back at the Vongola mansion, he misses the worn in seat where you’d spend hours curled up next to the arm. He liked when you did that. But only purely because it meant you weren’t getting into trouble elsewhere. His eyes catch someone else on the sofa opposite you, Hibari. The sound of his sharp intake of breath grabs your attention. “Gokudera-kun!” You grin, dropping your book, rolling off the sofa and all but running up to him. You stop awkwardly as you realise, he isn’t as happy to see you. Lips pursing together and hands fiddling with fingers as you stand in front of him.

“I thought you weren’t coming.” You explain.

Gokudera lets out an annoyed  _tch_ , folding his arms and refusing to look at you. After all the trouble you’d cause, you just run up to him like . . . like well, like  _that_. As though you were excited to see him or something. “I figured maybe you’d want a break from Shamal and his pervy ways.” You say, giving him a small smile, trying to keep the conversation light as Gokudera tries to remember all the reasons he finds oyu annoying and tiresome. And avoiding how that small smile makes his whole body feel too light for any emotion other than affection.

“And you thought inviting Hibari was a good idea!?” Gokudera remarks bitterly as he feels the need to make glaring eye contact with the cloud guardian, who returns his hatred two-fold. Finding a solid reason to be mad and settling back into his comfort zone of mild irritation.

“He likes reading too.” You say, looking entirely unconvinced this is going to work but perusing it anyway for some strange reason. Gokudera steps to move forward, but you don’t shift, his chest colliding with yours. “Did you bring what I asked?” You whisper, seductively subtly in his ear.

Gokudera can’t figure out when you started touching him, but he becomes uncomfortably aware of his sex when your hands expertly dip to his trouser pocket. Fingers wrapping round the small vial and pulling it out with controlled haste as you slip it into your own pocket in one quick movement. “Grazie.” You whisper, giving him a follow me gesture with your finger leading him to the sofa opposite Hibari. The bastard prefect refuses to acknowledge him, but shifts to a less relaxed position as Gokudera folds his arms.

Tension lines the air as Hibari refuses to take his eyes off Gokudera, and vice versa. Both of them have books, distractions, but neither of them move. Out of the corner of his eye, Gokudera can see your fingers play with the vial in your hand, looking at it thoughtfully. “Hey, How about I make us something to drink alright?” You say, seemingly trying to lift them mood. Gokudera nods, but only because he knows how terrible the jetlag between Japan and Itay is. Hibari doesn’t say anything but apparently agrees because you nod back, mouthing what looks like  _be nice_  as you turn to leave. The cloud guardian looks up from his book momentarily, eyes watching as the library door closes behind you. Hibari eyes catch Gokuderas, a cold hard stare meeting his. The bastard really had some fucking nerve, traveling over to Italy,  _compromising_  your security, hanging around you like he  _owned_  you. Just who gave him permission to see you while the rest of the family were left in the dark?! 

“You can leave.” Hibari says brazenly, pretending to settle back into his book. 

“What the fuck do you mean by that?!” He snipes. Hibari grips the edges of his book, already irritated by the need for further conversation. Gokudera consciously notes the sensation of his dynamite against his thighs, knowing they’re primed and ready to go at any time spurs his aggression.

“There’s no need for a herbivore like you to be here.” The prefect follows up, an unmasked note of irritation slipping through his mono tone voice. “I’m here. She’s safe.”

“Safe? Is that why she's sneaking into town and getting involved in weird fucking underground fight clubs?” Gokudera scoffs. A tonfa smacks his face before he can react, searing pain covering his cheeks and burning hot. “Fuck you!” He shouts, shoving the tonfa off. Two sticks of dynamite to the face. That’d do it. One misses, the other sparks next to Hibaris foot but does minimal damage as the older boy lunges over the table, grabbing his t-shirt collar and moving to slam his head onto the floor.

“Kyouya-senpai! Gokudera-kun!” Your voice catches both boys attention, stopping mid fight. “Can you just. . . get along for five minutes.” You scold, placing the tea tray down awkwardly around Hibaris body and watching them impatiently as they peel away from each other.

“He started it.” Gokudera mumbles, folding his arms.

“I don’t care how started it, not in the Cavallone mansion alright? I’m already struggling to find the money to replace the damage you both did to the Vongola mansion,” You remind both of them bitterly, handing over coffee to Gokudera and giving what looks like a pink toned green tea to Hibari. You watch both of them for a moment before losing your temper again. “Sit!” You instruct them. The storm guardian can only huff, jankily throwing the lost tonfa back at Hibari. His aims not good, and instead of hitting Hibari in the groin, it bounces off the sofa cushion and onto the floor. Bastard doesn’t bother picking it up. You glare at them both, and eventually, Hibari sits down. Gokudera lingers for a moment, but you’re look changes from stern to something Gokudera almost hopes to think is a kind sort of request, as you tilt your head to encourage him to sit down.

“Have a drink, it’ll make things easier.” You tell them, gesturing exhasperatedly to their drinks. As if a cup of coffee was going to make Hibari a more bearbale human being to be around, juding by the doubtufl look on Hibaris face, he’s thinking the same thing. Gokudera sighs, you owed him for this. Any more time in Hibaris presence and he genuinely thinks he’ll blow up the entire Cavallone mansion -and maybe Dino too for all the time he steals away from Juidame- . To ease his anger, Gokudera sips his coffee. It smells strange but Gokudera doubts you know how to prepare proper Italian coffee if your terrible habit of buying the cheapest instant jar you could find was anything to go by. 

So that’s how the afternoon goes. You, him, Hibari and some seriously poorly made coffee.

The next thing Gokudera knows, he’s waking up, a heavy presence of his chest as he stretches. His fingers move to touch cool skin, his heart skipping a beat as he imagines you’ve fallen asleep on him. There’s a cushion on his chest, hiding your face from him. He knows he should move, he knows this is  _exactly_  the kind of behaviour he shouldn’t be indulging in. But from the sound of your gentle, slow breaths, you’re asleep too. A hand moves before he can stop it, finger intertwining with soft hair. His hand stops abruptly. When we your hair this length? Feeing around, Gokuderas skin touches a shirt collar.  You hadn’t been wearing a shirt. Lifting his head up, Gokuderas blood runs cold. Hibari Kyouya is asleep on his chest. Hibari Kyouya is sound asleep on top of his fucking chest! The grey haired guardian attempts to shove Hibari off of him. The dead weight that is 58 kg of pure bratty cloud guardian gradually weighing on Gokuderas chest like a violent bomb waiting to blow.“Get the fuck off me!” Gokudera shouts.

A low, threatening growl sounds from the body above him. Hibari pushing himself up from his face down position on the pillow. Gokudera braces himself for an attack. Instead, the cloud guardian seems confused, rolling off him only to hit the floor with a deep  _thud_  that makes the sofa jolt. The guardian almost looks drunk as he hazily pulls himself up from the floor. His gaze eventually meeting Gokudera as he stands up. 

“Don’t touch me herbivore!” He spits. 

“Like I'd fucking want to!” Gokudera shouts back. You’re not here, and he’s certainly not sticking around to figure out what the fuck has happened while he was out. Ignoring the glare of the cloud guardian, Gokudera shoves his coffee cup back onto the tray and leaves before he finds himself punching the shit out of Hibari.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter took forever (；ﾟДﾟ) I'm still not entirely happy with it but i want to stick to the once a week schedule without fail this year! Look at reader character being all sneaky sneaky. If only the two amgry bois could get along and not fight for two minutesノಠ_ಠノ Writing Hibari and Gokudera is super fun but its also really hard? Becuase obviously they hate each other anyway but rn Gokudera is convincing himself he doesn't like the reader character and Hibaris main goal is getting her back to Namimori but also it's unlikely Gokduera would directly fight Hibari over a girl, but more like he would fight him for over stepping family boundaries? As always thank you so much for the subscriptions and Kudos and comments, They make such a difference to my motivation and really encourage me to keep writing and make the story the best it can be <3 <3 <3


	68. Summer Rain (Yamamoto,Hibari)

You’d been like this all night. After you’d returned from your trip to the city, covered in bruises and hauling an more than sizeable bag of money onto the balcony, whatever enjoyment you’d soldiered from you fight had faded into frustration. Hauling out stacks of money, and counting them. Once, twice, a final count, and then another and then one final, final, last count. 

Yamamoto watches with worry across his brow as you flop back onto the sofa for the fourth time, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “still not enough.” You mumble. 

“What’s it for?” Yamamoto asks curiously, finally taking a seat next to you on the surprisingly comfortable ornate sofa. He can feel your eyes on him, debate etching over your face as to whether you can tell him or not. Eventually you decide it’s safe. Yamamoto glad the bond of trust between the two of you is still strong. 

“The Vongola wall. If I can't run missions in Namimori, this is the next best thing.” You inform him, picking up the first stack of notes again. 

“By fighting rigged matches?” Yamamoto asks, concern lining his voice but lacking any judgemental tone. 

You stop counting, turning to give Yamamoto your full, worried attention. There’re questions on your lips, but you swallow them back. You tell him he shouldn't worry about that, you’re strong and you know what you’re doing.  Yamamoto reaches out to give your hand a reassuring squeeze. He doesn’t doubt for a moment you know what you’re doing, but that doesn’t stop him worrying. 

You take a deep breath, and then your hand returns the squeeze. You mumble something about it not being his job to worry about you and Yamamoto just laughs, pulling you onto his lap. “It may not be my job, but I care about you.” He says. You call him an idiot, feigning irritation as the mock movement of a shoulder punch does nothing but tap against his arm. Yamamoto lets out a laugh of air. Any play of resistance fades as you relax into his lap, finally easing some of the tension over your face. He asks what you’ve been reading, pulling a book from the side table next to him and placing it in your hands with gentle curiosity. You tell him you’ve not been reading, but pick up the book and open it all the same. 

Yamamoto feels a grin tug at the corner of his mouth as he watches you fall into the book. Clearly only intending to glance at the first page, but quickly sinking into the chapters. You don’t seem to notice when a hand comes up across the arm of the sofa to idly play with strands of your hair. You don’t notice how he gazes at you lovingly, as though you were a precious being in his hold. Yamamoto is glad of that much, he feels he could watch you for hours. At some point during the evening, you look up, apologizing for getting so distracted. Yamamoto doesn't mind, but he sees you lean over to put the book away and make to start recounting the stacks of money, that won’t do. 

“Would you read it to me?” He asks, his voice a mix of curiosity and eagerness. You give him a doubtful look, informing him it’s all in Italian. “I don’t mind.” He reassures you. “Sometimes it’s just nice hearing your voice. I missed it when you were away.” Yamamoto can see you’re a little embarrassed, as though such vocal displays of affection were a scandalous matter in a room filled with just the two of you. You tell him you take it back, he’s not an idiot, he’s a shameful flirt. Yamamoto lets laughter bubble in his chest, and insists he really does want to hear you read to him again. You give in, a bemused sigh as you find your hand moving from the money back to the old book. Excitedly, Yamamoto shimmies in his spot, settling himself beneath you and stretching back, ready for your words. You laugh at his eagerness, but do something similar as you shift back into his lap, easily fitting you against him. 

Your native language sounds beautiful on your lips. Old accents returning and melding with new ones Yamamoto recognises from Namimori. The soothing tone of your voice resonates in Yamamotos chest, sending a pleasant thrum of contentment across his body.  He closes his eyes, letting one hand come round to rest over your waist. The weight of you next to him, the sound of your voice calmly flowing through the air. He doesn't think it gets any better than this. 

The next time he opens his eyes, it’s sun down. Your face is next to his, a playfully accusing look on your face. “Sleep well?” You tease him. Yamamotos arms come round to support you sitting up on his lap. “Just a little” He says apologetically. You give him a knowing grin, insisting its bed time for him. Yamamoto mulls over the idea. If he leaves, you’ll probably start counting again, and that wouldn’t be good. Besides, he hasn’t seen you in weeks, a few more hours together only seemed fair. He feels you move and instinctively tucks his arms around you tighter. “I think I should sleep here tonight.” He says, brushing his nose against your cheek. “Would be dangerous if I sleep walked around Dinos place.” He informs you, making no effort to hide a small smug smile that tugs at the corner of his mouth. 

You catch on immediately, and sigh. You’re so close he can feel the warm breath against his skin, it makes his body tingle.  “you’re not going to leave me alone tonight are you?” You mumble, resigning yourself to the idea already. You convince yourself it’s the responsible thing to do, stating you don’t want him to get into trouble. But Yamamoto recognises the content sigh on your lips when you eventually finish getting ready for bed and fall onto the mattress to lie next to him, shoulder to shoulder, arm to arm. It’s too warm to sleep under sheets, but your skin is wonderfully cool against his own, it’s impossible to resist turning on his side and pulling you close to him. He doesn’t have the excuse of being asleep, but you don’t pull away. A cautious arm draping over his side as you roll to nuzzle your face into his chest. 

Yamamoto could lie like this forever. Just you, and him, and the soft heat of the Italian summer. Despite being tired, he can’t quite sleep, not yet. He stays awake, a free hand stroking your hair as your breaths get slower and your eyes begin to close. You look so peaceful in his arms, drifting off as you snuggle your face into the crook of his neck. Yamamoto’s chin rubs over the top of your head, a satisfied hum rumbles in his chest as you push your head up sleepily in search of more affection. This was what you needed, he was what you needed.  

 

Yamamoto wakes up to a strange sensation. He has you in his arm, cuddled into his side, but there’s movement above him. He can’t sense any ill intent from the intruder, but he still feels on edge rolling onto his back to try and get a better look in the darkness. The next thing Yamamoto feels, is a head on his lap, a weight he doesn’t recognise as he curls his hands to confirm you’re still next to him. “Move your leg little animal.” A familiar voice instructs him. Yamamoto reaches over, quickly switching on his bedside light, only to be greeted with a confused looking Hibari. 

It only lasts a second, the bewildered look on Hibaris face quickly shifting to an aggressive glare as the older boy attempts to hit him with a tonfa. Yamamoto rolls away just in time. He doesn’t have his bat with him, but he manages to keep some distance between him and Hibari. 

The tonfa ricochets off the headboard, jolting you awake. It takes you a moment to figure out what’s happened. An angry Hibari glaring down at you and Yamamoto off the bed behind him. “Kyouya-senpai, it’s okay It’s Yamamoto” You explain, trying and failing to hold back a yawn. “I said it was okay, Yamamoto sleeps in my bed at home. He sleepwalks if he doesn’t hav--” You’re cut off by a violent swipe of Hibari tonfa that barely misses your face. Adrenaline makes Yamamotos heart pound at the sight of you fighting off Hibari. The cloud guardian going at you full force, refusing to listen.  

“Why are you letting a herbivore into your bed?!” He scolds you, aiming for your shoulder, anger lining every word. You do a good job dodging, trying to explain through quick breaths and rolls that it’s not what it seems. Yamamoto can see Hibari’s too mad to listen, a misunderstanding can do that to people. 

“Hibari, it’s fine. We were just sleeping.” Yamamoto says with a firm tone, stepping between the two of you. A warning hand around Hibaris wrist to stop the next attack. 

“What are you doing here herbivore” Hibari spits. “Only a delinquent would sneak into someone else's room and sleep on their bed.” 

“Weren’t you trying to get into her bed too Hibari-san?” Yamamoto retorts,  meeting Hibaris glare with his own steady hold. The cold lamp light outlines the hard glare on Hibaris face. Yamamoto senses the attack before it starts. “Hibari-san!” He warns, trying to deter than cloud guardian as he shoves a tonfa against Yamamotos shoulder. It stings, Yamamoto dodges a few more. The attacks are relentless but not unavoidable. Out the corner of his eye, you catch Yamamotos attention. From behind Hibari you wave a pair of handcuffs, gesturing for Yamamoto to move closer. He gets the idea, and as best he can, he manoeuvres Hibari back towards you. incorporating footwork from his dads teaching to doge and move effectively. It’s hard, without a weapon he’s forced to think on his feet. A wrong strike from Hibari and Yamamoto shoves the Tonfa back into Hibari stomach, doubling him over. A swift shove and the prefects back collides with your front. A loud click of handcuffs. And you step away. 

“Great thinking!” Yamamoto says, giving you a proud high five. You smile at him, before a stray tonfa is thrown at your head, ducking just in time it bounces off the wall and smashes into an expensive looking vase. You curse loudly. 

“I don’t think he’s in the mood to listen.” Yamamoto says, waving a hand in front of the angered prefect. One hand is still free, the other end of the handcuffs stuck around the bed post, but that doesn’t stop Hibari from swiping at Yamamoto aggressively.  

“Kyouya-senpai rarely is.” You say, picking up the stray tonfa. He can see your eyes shift between him and Hibari. “Maybe it would be best if you left Yamamoto-kun.” You say eventually, walking over and giving him a look somewhere between polite dismissal and regretful departure. Yamamoto nods, but quietly requests a moment alone with you outside. You oblige. 

The hall way is cooler than your room. The long floor to ceiling windows letting in cut streams of moonlight that give a silver tinge to the selectively worn carpet underneath. “Are you okay?” Yamamoto asks, a hand reaching out to touch your shoulder. You tell him you’re okay, joking that you should be asking him that. “It’s definitely a new way to wake up.” He jokes, that easy smile creeping back to his face. It disappears gradually as he looks at you.  

“Is Hibari always like that with you?” Yamamoto asks, as he tries to keep his voice calm. He stops his hand from curling protectively around you shoulder, trying to keep his touch light, reassuring in the stark contrast to the way Hibari had reacted. You try and explain, Hibari just fights when he’s angry, he won’t listen until he’s calmed down or won.  Yamamoto pauses, taking a short breath. “It’s not how he should treat his friends.” He tells you, anger shifting low in his chest. 

 You nod understandingly, explaining that Hibari would never intentionally hurt you, just that he got angry. Yamamoto shakes his head. “Friends don’t get angry at other friends for sharing a bed.”  He explains, Gokudera had got mad sure, but he’d understood when it was explained to him. Gokudera hadn’t decided to battle you, weaponless and without warning. Yamamotos voice comes out low as he speaks trying to hold back his outrage at Hibaris actions. He flexes his hand against the desire to curl them into fists, knowing getting angry won’t help anything. “Just be careful okay, Hibari-san can be reckless.” 

You nod, taking a step forward, you lean yourself into him, wrapping your arms around his waist.  “I’ll be careful.” You tell him, giving him a surprisingly strong hug. Yamamoto lets himself relax a little, returning the hug. “Besides it’s not like he’s your boyfriend or anything.” Yamamoto jokes, rubbing your back with his free hand. You go stiff against him, the hug dropping into a light hold. 

A moment of silence passes, before Yamamoto carefully pries you off of him to get a look at your face. “I uh . . . think I need to talk to Kyouya-senpai.” You tell him, uncertainty clear in your voice. Yamamoto gives you a confused look, asking if everything is okay. That question seems to trouble you more. “I think . . . I think I know why Kyouya-senpai was so mad.” You tell him. Understanding flashes through Yamamotos mind, his heart thudding to a stop sinking in his chest.  Yamamoto feels the question rise in his throat, stopping himself and coughing to stop it coming out too surprised. 

“Are you and Hibari-san . . . dating?” He manages, giving you a concerned look. He’s seen how Hibari treats Kusukabe and Dino, it wasn’t kind and Hibari _liked_ _K_ usukabe, what horrors awaited someone who Hibari cared for more so? 

You mumble, trying to explain that you weren't sure. Sometimes Hibari did nice things for you. The hot springs, the school dance, chocolates on white day, a kiss here and there. But sometimes he was mean, sending you away without reason, hurting Gokudera, banning you from the dance, interrupting missions. Hibari being hard to read an understatement all things considered. Yamamoto tries to process everything you’ve told him at once. He’d known about some of them, but kisses, kisses were new. 

“I think it’d be best to talk him.” Yamamoto agrees, as much as he doesn’t want Hibari anywhere near you until he’s fully rational, Yamamoto is aware that getting an answer right now is important to you. 

“Can I come find you later?” You ask him, fiddling with your hands nervously. 

Yamamoto nods. Before he leaves for his room, he places a soft kiss on your forehead. “I’ll be just down the hall okay? Shout if he tries attacking you again.” Yamamoto informs you, a more serious tone taking place of the carefree approach that normally came so naturally. He watches as you close the door behind you. He calms the strange sour feeling in his gut, and convinces himself it’s just worry for a friend. A very close, dear friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter can honest to god suck my toe im so done with it


	69. The Savage Beast (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senpai is MAD

Hibari is exhausted, the bucking horse had pushed him to his limits with training, and now he’d come back to find you sleeping in the same bed as a herbivore. He thrashes against his restraints, bashing the metal links with his tonfa. He’s going to kill you, he’s going to bite you to death and bring you back to life, just to bite you to death all over again. “Kyouya-Senpai?” A familiar voice calls. It’s hard to make out where you are with just the lamp lighting the room but he snarls in your general direction for good measure. Unless you’ve come to grovel at his feet, beg forgiveness for your deviant behaviour with a herbivore, and for tying him up, he’s not interested.

As Hibaris eyes adjust to the dark, he vaguely makes out your figure in amongst the shadows. Your steps are hesitant, as they should be. The  _moment_  he’s free, you’re getting punished. “Yamamoto-kun is a friend he wasn’t trying anything.” You tell him, seemingly completely naïve to the perverse ideas of such cowardly animals. Even if he didn’t do anything, that doesn’t mean the herbivore lacked wicked thoughts. You were too clueless to their cowardly ways of courting. Your senpai should be the only person you allow such an intimate time with, and yet here you were, acting as though it was some big misunderstanding. Hibari growls at you, a warning that this route of conversation would not save you from his wrath. “Yamamoto-kun can be trusted Kyouya-senpai, he’s a good friend and respectable.” You tell him as you walk closer. Hibari practically snarls at the idea, jerking against his restraints.

You finally step into the light, half your face shadowed by the single source of light. Hibari can tell you’re trying to be brave despite his anger, a wasted effort.“Kyouya-senpai, Yamamoto-kun is my friend, just because we were sharing a bed doe-” 

Hibari growls again as anger fills his mouth. You pause, surprised at the interruption.

“Yamamoto-kun is a friend he-” 

Another growl, Hibari glaring you down as he opts for sheer force to snap the bedpost in half as he tugs violently against the handcuffs.

“Yamamoto-kun is my fri-” Hibari lets out a low, threatening huff of air. Trying and succeeding to jerk the bed forward with his next tug. You don’t say anything for a minute, sizing up his reaction. Slowly, you open your mouth. “Yamamoto-kun ” 

Hibari spits, too pissed off to hear the herbivores name any more. Your eyes narrow as you walk closer, still keeping your distance. “Kusukabe-kun.”

Hibari doesn’t re-act. Unsure why you’re bringing his vice chairman up now of all times.

“Yamamoto-kun.” You say carefully, eyes weighing up his response. Hibari kicks and jerk his restraints, annoyed that this has gone on for far too long.

“Gokudera-kun.” You try. Hibari doesn’t know who that is, and decides it’s not worth the hassle. Instead, allowing you a moment to gather your senses and realise you need to be apologising to him. “Look, Yamamoto-kun and I are friends.” You explain. Hibari jerks against his chains.

“We live together.” You continue after a short pause. Hibari violently tugs at the restraints around his wrist, this has gone on long enough. The restraints feeling as though they’re burning as they prevent him from delivering a fitting death.

“I see him every day and he’s a big part of my life within the Vongola.” You finish. That does it. One rough jerk and Hibari snaps the bedpost with brutal force. He has one tonfa left but it’s enough to pin you down. The collapsing bed post and canopy trapping the both of you beneath it. It’s not heavy, but Hibari could use the extra weight to keep you in place.

You scold him, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. “I’m going to bite you to death.” He warns, before his teeth sink painfully into your shoulder. You needed reminding, he was your senpai, you were  _his_  little animal, no one else's. If the future had shown him anything, it’s that he could have you, all of you, to himself. He was an idiot thinking it would be easy, he knew that now. Assuming his older self had simply taken his time in to lure you into his hold, was a miscalculation. Another bite on your shoulder, Hibari lets his anger sink under your skin with a burning force. Sadistic enjoyment prickles over him as he watches goosebumps form on your skin and bruising darken the vulnerable soft spot between your neck and shoulder.

There’s little resistance with your hands caught up in one of his, but Hibari can feel your chest press against his to try and push him off. “Kyouya-senpai!” You shout, before twisting awkwardly, hooking a knee under his hip and attempting to shove him off.  The extra weight of the bed frame keeps you in place and if Hibari wasn’t so pissed off he’d find amusement in the way you struggle helplessly against him. You squirm, arms tugging against his hold, legs slipping and shifting under him as you try to find a leverage point. It’s useless, but Hibari finds it so condescendingly endearing that you try. The cloud guardian pulls back for a moment, simply to watch you fight underneath him. The herbivore could never have you like this, he was the strongest person you knew.  _He_  was stronger, and quicker, and smarter than you. How you hadn’t realised that and thrown yourself at his feet was beyond Hibari. An ungrateful little animal. Anger simmers in Hibari’s stomach and he moves to make good on his promised death, when you stop him.

“Kyouya-senpai, wait!” You look at him, eyes wide with terror and practically  _begging_  him for mercy. Hibari pauses, jaw open, teeth bared lest you forget his threat.

“Are you . . .”

You’re pausing, lips stammering over a word you’re too afraid to voice. Pathetic. Hibari runs his tongue across the top line of teeth, feeling over his sharp incisors. If you didn’t hurry up, he’d do much more than just bite your neck.

“Are you mad about Yamamoto-kun being in my bed because we’re dating?”

Hibari stares at you. Assessing your face with a cold hard glare of his own in the dim light. You were serious about your question, as ridiculous as it was. Dating.  _Dating?!_  As if he was some high school boyfriend who held your hand and called you princess. As if he  _wanted_  to be attached to someone so idiotically clueless and naïve. The idea would be laughable if it wasn’t so brazenly improper. You weren’t dating him.He’s your senpai, you _belonged_  to him. Things like kissing you, napping with you, they were all done at his leisure, idle whims that Hibari acted on simply because he could. Some days you didn’t even have the decency to return them, leaving him to his own devices instead begging for more affection like you should. You hadn’t even had the decorum to confess your incredibly obvious feeling for him, let alone ask him out. Dating. The word burns into Hibaris mind. Clearly, he’s been far too nice towards you. You’d forgotten to fear him properly, forgotten how cold and cruel he could be. You needed reminded.

“We’re not dating.” Hibari tells you icily, refusing to let anger or any sliver of emotion into his voice.

“Oh . . right.” You say. What was that look? Disappointment, relief? It’s disgusting either way. To show his distance, Hibari lets go of your hands and shoves you out from under him in one rough move. The last thing he needs is you getting any more fanciful ideas about his feelings towards you. There’s a scratching sound as you pull yourself up off the floor and stand awkwardly over him.

“Leave.” Hibari informs you, rolling over. Closing his eyes and stretching out as he gives you every indication he’s done with the conversation and ready for a nap.

“Senpai , don’t you want to get the bed frame off-”

“I said leave.” He warns, opening one eye and glaring you down. There’s a jolt of shock through your body with such an evil look pointed your way that pleases Hibari greatly. You bow and leave, making no effort to interrupt him further. Good, now maybe you’d learn your place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hibari, liking you? No, no you have it wrong. YOU like Hibari. It's YOU who has feelings and cares for him. As if he is even capable of feelings. How dare you!Now please leave clearly this conversation is over and he must nap, also you're an idiot and never look at another boy again okay?! _(:3｣∠)_


	70. The Vongolas Ace (Yamamoto,Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ONE MILLION YEARS DUNGEON

There was something about Yamamoto Takeshi that made him so easy to talk to. You had gone straight to his room after your confrontation with Hibari. He’d listened without judgement, the slight anger in his voice gone and replaced with that warm welcoming tone that eased you into a sense of security and comfort. You hadn’t found it in you to leave, so you’d spent the rest of the night together, strewn across the bed shifting from barely touching, to arms and legs intertwined, to light cuddles. Quiet conversation punctuated with laughter and soft, gentle whispers when the reminder of just how early in the morning it was slipped back into consciousness. Despite not sleeping much, you felt refreshed as you walked around the Cavallone garden with the baseball player. “And then what happened?” Yamamoto asks curiously, his eyes locked onto your face as though he’s hanging on every word. You catch yourself in time, realising you’ve just told him  _way_  more than you’re comfortable with about your previous mafia adventures. You brush it off, forcing a laugh and reminding him it’s just a roleplaying game. He laughs along, wrapping his hands round the back of his neck and giving you that lopsided smile that seems to be kept just for intimate, peaceful moments like these. 

Both of you let out a long, happy sigh and then laugh at each other for the strange unison gesture. With the confusion of your relationship with Hibari out the way, things seemed a lot easier with the rain guardian. Yamamoto stops when you reach the entrance back into the mansion, looking around the garden one last time.  

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” You ask him, leaning back against one of the double doors that leads inside and looking up at the tall guardian. He nods, still childishly captivated by the colours and sheer diversity of foliage that snakes the garden. When he’s done gaping, he turns back, leaning his forearm against the door and grinning down at you.  

“I think it’s beautiful.” Yamamoto says, looking at you. Seemingly unaware how his gesture could easily be misinterpreted as a personal compliment. You laugh at his ignorance, but feel a slight warmth in your cheeks. Not unusual for the Italian summer, but somehow the heat feels different. As though it’s coming from inside your chest and radiating through your body. You look at Yamamoto, who seems completely at home next to you, head tilted down to you with a half-lidded gaze and a lopsided grin.  After a moment you feel yourself slide closer to the guardian, till you’re practically resting your side against his chest. Yamamoto has this strange, draw about him that makes it almost impossible not to get close. Your eyes flit to his and you notice his own cheeks are a little pink as his eyes meet yours. There’s a strange sensation in your chest as you feel your breath catch in your throat, your heart beat audible in your ears as though you’ve been running for hours. The desire to bring your face closer pulls at you, eyes flitting to his lips as you realise how dry your own are and lick them subconsciously.  

The door next to you slams open and, before you can ask why, Hibari has taken hold of your wrists and begun dragging you inside. It takes you a moment to recover from the atmospheric whiplash, and another two before you realise where he’s taking you. “Kyouya-senpai!” You shout, already struggling against his viper tight hold. You thrash against his hold, trying and failing to dig your feet into the ground to stop him. Without a weapon, you’re at his mercy. From somewhere behind you, you can hear Yamamoto following, trying to catch up and calm Hibari down. You make another attempt to wriggle free from your senpais grip. You’re not quite strong enough and after being dragged down a familiar set of stairs, one hard shove lands you on your hands and knees, back in the jail cell you’d first inhabited. A loud metallic clunk signalling you’ve been sealed back inside your concrete tomb.  

There’s a shuffle of frantic footsteps, a call muffed by meters of metal, the heavy sound of the thick steel door being forced open. “Are you okay?” Yamamoto asks, urgency clear in his voice as he manages to twist the heavy lock and shoves his body against to door to try and force it open further than a few centimetres. You assure Yamamoto you’re okay, the pain in your knees and hands already subsiding. Behind him, you see your senpai, hard stare burning with anger as he approaches, tonfas drawn. 

Yamamoto catches the surprise in your face and turns just in time, using his baseball bat to block the oncoming attack. “C’mon Hibari, you can’t lock her up just because you’re mad.” The rain guardian says lightly, as though this is all a big misunderstanding. Hibari’s brow furrows as he pulls back his tonfa and heads in for another attack. In a split second, the trusty baseball bat in Yamamotos hand is replaced with a sword. His easy-going face shifting to a darker, more focused look, barely recognisable as the Yamamoto you know. His brow furrowed, jaw tight as he rolls off the blow. You stand in shock as Yamamoto retaliates, his movements quick and calculated. “Hibari-san, you can’t keep doing this.” Yamamoto says, in a tone so stern it’s barely recognisable from the goofy, care free tone he carries with him like a ray of sunshine. 

The rain guardian is fluid, strong, it's hard to take your eyes off him as slick tan muscle moves expertly against the onslaught of attacks. Terrifying and captivating all at once.  The two of them head to head feels dangerous, it’s hard to find an opening to intervene as Hibaris flawless attack style bounces off Yamamoto. If the rain guardian is struggling against the could guardian, he isn’t showing it, his foot work and stance seemingly anticipatory of every move. 

 You’d laughed when Reborn had commented that the rain guardian was a “natural born hitman”, assuming he was injecting humour into your briefing. But here, in front of you, the Yamamoto you knew has transformed into an all-out  _weapon,_  not only dodging hits but returning them, scathing Hibari with the  _backside_  of his newly formed sword. It’s impossible to tell how or when he flipped his sword, but Hibari is only superficially wounded. The level of anger it provokes from the cloud guardian disproportionate to the injury's depth. You can’t look away, fully captivated and horrified that Yamamoto is capable of such actions. The guy who’d smile at you in class and laugh at his own terrible jokes, the guy who asked you to help him with his tie in the mornings, the guy who’d cuddled into you at night when he slept walk to your room.  

A whip interrupts the battle. Cracking through the air and catching Hibaris arm. Yamamoto’s sword centimetres away from the older boys chest. The three of you are hauled up to the Cavallones office, neither of you able to say anything against the anger in Dino’s eyes. 

 

Dino’s mad. Very mad. All three of you are hauled into his lavish office, you watch as the Cavallone boss tensely paces from behind his desk, stopping every now and then to gesture in exasperation before returning to his pacing. “So now you’ve got Yamamoto wrapped up in your mits too?” Dino all but spits, and for a moment you’re incredibly glad neither Yamamoto or Hibari know Italian. You argue back, you don’t have any of them in your mitts. Anything can set Hibari off, Dino should know this. 

Dino continues berating you, asking why Romario had walked in on the two of you  _canoodling_ in the library. You don’t have an answer for that and look down at your shoes instead. Cursing yourself for being so lax with Yamamoto. 

“I think it’s best you go home, Yamamoto.” Dino says, reverting to the guardian's native language. 

Your eyes slip over to Yamamoto, the natural hitman. His body language apologetic as he nods solemnly. The rain guardian gives you a quick look before Romario escorts him out. Any other time you might have taken it as caring, but images of the stern-faced guardian flash over your mind as he makes eye contact and you can't find it in you to hold his gaze. You look around the luxurious office. Every inch covered in expensive items and unnecessary amounts of gold. Your fingers itch to steal something, just to shove it to Dino, but that wouldn’t be wise right now. Sighing, you give up any idea of winning this argument and head for the door. 

“I’m not done with you!” Dino shouts sharply. Turning around your greeted with an angry blond as he produces something from his pocket. A small pink vial. Instinctively you shove you hand into your pocket. Your vial is still there. 

“Thought you could sneak your experiments with Shamal past me?” Dino warns, looking almost smug despite the anger heavy on his brow. He walks out from behind his desk and dismisses Romario, who leaves without so much as a word. Dino asks what your plan was, if you really thought you could poison him and get away with it. You try to tell him it’s not poison, and you had no intention of hurting him. Which was true, love potions don’t hurt anyone. If anything, the fact it could make Hibari and Gokudera get along had given you enough hope it would make Dino fall in love with you. And there’s a good chance if you love someone, you’ll let them return to japan and not keep them in handcuffs. Dino steps forward, uncorking the vial. “So, you won’t have any problem drinking it then.” He pressures. 

You keep composure, you knew the effects of the love potion. Maybe if you drank it now, you could better prepare yourself. Drink it, and get to your room ASAP. If there’s nobody in sight, the effects should be easier to deal with. “Of course not.” You retort, keeping steady eye contact with the Cavallone boss. Another step forward, and Dino trips over thin air. In slow motion you watch him fall to the ground, grip on the bottle slipping as it spills all over Hibari. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh dear, looks like things went from bad to worse. If only you hadn't been so close with Yamamoto, or Hibari could keep his overwhelmingly possessive anger in check ╥﹏╥ 
> 
> I just want to say a massive thank you to everyones who's bookmarked (and secretly bookmarked (・ω<) ) Three's a Crowd int he past few weeks. It's a huge motivation to see hits and subscriptions and comments go up and seriously without you guys i would NOT have so much motivation to keep writing so thank you so so so so much <3 <3 <3 <3


	71. Left Behind (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Amgrey boi doesn't do feeings wel

Gokudera is fuming, running on nothing but pure agitation and fury as he all but knocks past his fellow passengers and throws himself into the airplane seat. You'd left without him. You, Hibari and Yamamoto had all up and left Italy without so much as a word. He slumps down against the arm rest and kicks the seat in front of him. It’s empty, but the person next to it still finds reason to complain. “Fuck off.” Gokudera spits. Momentarily, he’s distracted by the buzzing of his phone. The luminous screen boasts Shamals number. No doubt the old man wondering where he’d run off to. It’s not the first time Gokduera had left Italy without a word, why would this time be any different.  

The seatbelt sign turns on but Gokduera pays it no attention as he glares out the window. How dare you. He could understand if  _you’d_  left. That was predictable. By now, Gokudera was fully aware you just did your own thing, regardless of others. But you’d taken Hibari and Yamamoto with you. Hadn’t even dropped off for a quick “bye” or “Are you coming?”. Anger swells in his chest Gokduera plays out several situations in which you see him before you leave. One where he tells you to get lost, another where you  _beg_  him to come back, a third where Shamal hits on you and he heroically saves you from a perverted grab. The more scenarios he plays out, the more it pisses him off that none of them occurred. 

Had the three of you done it on purpose, decided to ditch him in Italy? Gokudera phone buzzes in his pocket but he ignores it. The stupid doctor could chew on his impatience until the flight was over. The stupid doctor who’d waltzed in proclaiming something about the virility of young life and the rumours he’d heard from one of the Cavallone guards about just what you’d been up to during your time in the mansion. Hibari in your room. Yamamoto in your room. Both late night visitors. Shamal making snide remarks that Gokduera better up his game if he wanted you to himself. The grey haired bomber feels his fist clench. Yamamoto he could understand, idiot probably slept walked right into your warm, soft bed. But Hibari, Hibari spending the night in your room. That didn’t add up, at least, not in a way Gokduera could stomach. Is that why you’d left without him? Is that why when he’d went to find he’d only run into empty rooms and a small awkward guard informing him you’d left a with the other Vongola family members a whole day ago. His phone pings, once, twice, three times offering a distraction from his own thoughts. Before he can see the sender, a hoity flight attendant informs him that he must turn off his phone while in air. Gokudera could tell him exactly why that’s bullshit, but he feels the anger gone from his chest, replaced with a gradually familiar pain. It starts in his ribs, stretching and flexing across his lungs till it penetrates his heart. 

You’d left without him. Did it even register as you left the mansion, at any point during your departure, did you think of him. The answer had to be no. Gokudera’s fists uncurl and his knees stick against the back of the seat in front of him as he tries to bring them up to his chest. The realisation across his mind. It didn’t matter how he felt about you, whether he liked you’d, didn’t like you, spent the rest of his waking days thinking of nothing but the two of you together. You didn’t care about him, not enough to let him know you were leaving, not enough to spend time with him the way you did the others. You put up with him. It was by sheer convenience and proximity that the two of you spent time together, Gokudera understands that now. The rest of the flight is spent like that. He tries to distract himself, he really does. But everything, every thought, every notion, every theory, leads back to you. And the fact you don’t care about him. 

The heavy thought hangs over Gokudera like a rain cloud as he hails a taxi back to the Vongola mansion. He pauses at the front door, hand hovering over the door handle. What exactly was he supposed to say when he saw you? How was he supposed to feel about being left behind? Should he pretend not to care, that he was coming home anyway? Should he shout and scream and rant at you until the nagging drain on his chest was somehow eased? Both options feel like more effort than Gokudera can expand as he stands outside the front door. Would Yamamaoto say anything. Would it be apologises and pitiful looks across breakfast as even the most moronic of the group realises Gokudera doesn’t matter. A calloused hand drops from its position over the handle and Gokudera finds himself staring at the ground. Why did he even care? Why did your actions get to him so much? He shouldn’t let them. He’s a right hand man. It doesn’t matter what his other guardians think of him, at the end of the day his priority was Tsuna, not you. 

Taking a deep breath, Gokudera opens the front door. There’s no one there waiting to greet him, but then he hadn’t expected there to be, so the sinking feeling is irrational and unnecessary as he walks through the corridor. The hole in the living room wall is still there. Gokudera pauses, if he tilts his head and leans forward, he can see you on the couch, sat in the good spot of the sofa. But you’re not reading, instead you’re worriedly looking at your phone. Biting the pad of your thumb and frowning as you stare at the screen. “Oi, what’re you so worried about?!” He snaps before he can stop himself. 

You jump at his voice, eyes locking onto his. Your eyes grow wider, mouth dropping like an idiot as you practically sprint out your seat. “You’re back!” You shout gleefully as you vault through the large  hole and practically rugby tackle him with a hug. The impact sends both of you flying to the floor. Gokduera trapped underneath your overzealous greeting as you seem to show no shame in your inappropriate greeting.

“G-get off me!” Gokudera shouts, squirming underneath you and trying to find purchase to push you off. You don’t listen, only leaning back and giving him that contended smile. You tell him you were worried, you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye when Hibari dragged you back to Namimori. You’d tried calling but he hadn’t picked up. So you’d left a few voicemails. You’d also visited Tsuna and sent him a report on the tenth status because you figured if Gokduera wasn’t coming back for a while, that’d be important information for him to know. But then his phone was off. So, you’d called Shamal, who also couldn’t get a hold of him and began to feel anxious something had happened. and you started to worry Shamal had used you for one of his crazy new trident diseases, or he’d gotten into a fight. 

You don’t stop talking for a while, to the point it almost gets on Gokduera nerves how worried you were about him. “Fucking hell woman I can look after myself you know!” He huffs, folding his arms, but not quite finding the energy to shove you off him as you straddle his hips.  

You give him an almost apologetic look and laugh as you rub the back of your neck. “I guess, I just worried about you. You’re important to the family Gokduera-kun.” You say, sheepishly peeling yourself off him and standing up. You grin, offering him your hand and Gokduera can't understand how you can say something like that to him so casually. Compliment him as though he hasn’t just shouted at you with unnecessary aggression and spite for caring about him. He feels the warmth on his cheeks flourish and rolls over onto his stomach to hide his face.  _Important to the family_. That’s what you’d said. You think he’s important. “Gokduera-kun are you okay?”  You ask, and he can hear you crouch down next to him, a concerned hand on his cheek. “You’re really warm.”  

“I’m fine!” He barks, not savouring the cool of your hand against his cheek. Not falling into the sweet feelings of affection and care that seem to surround you and swallow him with even the most simple of gestures.  

“Do you want something to drink?” You ask. Gokudera shouts he doesn’t, but you leave and return with two cups of coffee anyway. A large white mug appears in his peripheral as he waits for the blood to leave his cheeks. The inviting smell of caffeinated Italian coffee fills the air as you sit down next to his prone frame. “I said I'm fine.” He grumbles, trying to hide behind his hair as he watches you relax back on your hands. 

“I know.” You tell him. “I just wanted to sit here with you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera is such a butt when it comes to emotions. He's so quick to anger to shout but one teeny tinny sliver of affection from you? Useless blushing pile of jelly. Omg how can you ignore all his fury and rage and just be so FLIPPANTLY NICE TO HIM>?!!!?!?!?! -`д´- Stop it you're lying go away.
> 
> A massive thank you to the Gokduera fans who stuck with TaC for the last 4 weeks plus, more is coming to compensate i promise <3 On another note, updates may be a little more sporadic than usual. Mostly weather related as it's literally tooo cold to type in my flat - i have four layers on and a blanket round me right now, it's bad-. I can go to cafes and friends houses, but explaining what i'm writing is a little awkward and coffee are expensive TT_TT I sincerely thank you for your patience with this trash writer and really hope you're enjoying the series <3 ☆*ヾ(-∀・*)*+☆


	72. Roll With it (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Memory, all alone in the moonlight

“So, you don’t remember anything?” the baby reiterates, staring Hibari down from his position on the table. Despite his pint size, Hibari knows exactly the kind of fearsome power that lies underneath Reborns controlled gaze. He had no reason to lie. But as Hibari had stated several times before, he did not know what the baby was talking about.

“Does this spark your memory?” The baby asks, producing a tv screen from the middle of the desk. Hibari doesn’t immediately recognise the hallway he’s being shown, but he recognises his own face as it passes the screen. He recognises the arms wrapped around his neck, and the face that quickly follows his. The Hibari on the screen stops to look at the camera, and with one quick hit knocks it out. Hibari looks at the baby, keeping his face calm. He doesn’t remember doing that, nor does he remember carrying you piggy back at any point in his life. But he’s not going to lose face and admit that. Instead he holds a steady gaze and keeps quiet to see what the baby does next.

“Or this?” Reborn continues, switching the video to airport security Hibari guesses is somewhere in Italy. You’re still on his back, looking around as Hibari stares at the boards. You make to move off and a firm jolt of his arms underneath your legs stops you. Clearly whatever he was doing, Hibari didn’t want you leaving his side. The version of him on the screen nods towards the boards and you speak to him, maybe translating. The only trouble is the previous version of him isn’t listening. His steelly eyes are transfixed on your face as you talk, bright eyed scanning lines of Italian. Hibari knows that look, to anyone else it’s a cold hard assessing stare. But he knows better. It’s a look of adoration. He stifles the urge to shift in his seat, feeing uncomfortably undone by the obvious display put on by an imposter version of himself. You point at several boards, speaking to him. Eventually the two of you move toward a gate. The video cuts off there. Hibaris eyes move back to the baby, who looks at him with the same neutral face as he waits for the cloud guardian to say something. A silent assessment of the others intentions.

“We only have one other video.” Reborn remarks after a long moment of silence. This setting is familiar, Namimori school. The short walkway to his office. You’re still wrapped around him, head dipped into the crook of his shoulder. The firm hold around his neck gone. To his eye, it almost looks like you’re asleep. It would be easier to see, but the sun had long in Japan and this version of himself seems far more concerned with getting you to the disciplinary room than stopping to fiddle with lights. The door is shoved open, the two of you disappearing into Hibaris sanctuary. Reborn stop the video there. “Unfortunately, we don’t have access to the video inside Namimori Discipinary room. However I believe you do.” The baby says giving him a steady look that almost challenges Hibaris glare. “If you don’t remember anything, perhaps that video could shed some light on the situation for us.” He continues. 

The door to the disciplinary room is locked tight, bolted both at the door lock and the small top lock Hibari had Kusukabe install for good measure. All blinds are drawn, and only when he’s completely sure he’s alone, does Hibari pull up the secret files on his computer – again curtesy of Kusukabe, Hibari never quiet finding the patience for such robotic unwilling machines-. The file is automatically saved at the end of the day and categorically dated, so it doesn’t take long to find what he’s looking for. After some struggling with controls, Hibari eventually manages to pause and playback the moment he entered the room with you.

You’re dropped onto the disciplinary sofa with the greatest of care. Hibari turning round and just  _staring_  at you as you look up at him with a mixture of anxious worry and complete exhausation. The current Hibari feels his hands curl into fits as he watches himself act like some love struck teenager. Willing his past self to get a grip and scold you for all the trouble you’d caused since Italy. Give you the cold shoulder for making him  _carry_  you home as if you didn’t have two perfectly working legs to begin with. The Hibari on the screen has different ideas as he joins you on the sofa, not so gently man handing you until you’re lying on your side next to him. From the look on your face, you hadn’t been expecting that. His hand comes up and your eyes close in shock and finch as though readying yourself for a scolding. The concerned furrow of your brow fades as a soft and tender touch meets your face. The back of his fingers come down to stroke your cheek, thumb and forefinger stopping at you chin to hold it commandingly in place, forcing your face upwards closer. “Open your eyes little animal.”

There’s no hesitation in your obedience, eyes opening to stare in confusion at him. You’re tense, Hibari can see that through the screen awash with blue as the summer moonlight coats the room, but you don’t pull away from his grip. You don’t complain when he gazes at you with an intense hunger. He’d become captivated by your eyes, ever since you’d become lost in his, realising the ever-changing tones of your iris could fully bewitch him if he gave you the chance. Hibari searches his memory, tries to remember lying with you on the sofa. Tries to salvage something from his juvenilely indulgent behaviour. It would have been worth it if he could remember exactly what they looked like. If he could recall the flickers of light and shifting hues in your eyes so he never felt the need to stare at them again. But before he can search his memory further, the past version of himself pulls you in for a kiss. Not a chaste kiss, not a teasingly dominate kiss, designed only to toy with your easily readable emotions. A long, deep kiss that lasts far too long and is carried out far too delicately to be anything but pure affection on his side. You try to pull away, eyes wide with surprise, pawing a hand against his chest questioningly, as though you’re not quite sure if you want to move him away or simply playing out the action of defiance because you feel you should. But the past version of himself pulls you closer, moving his hand from your chin to hold your head in place with an authoritative grip. Greedy fingers pinning your face to his. Eventually you give in, enchanting eyes slipping closed as your futile attempts at resistance trickle into nothing more than a soft sigh. You’re lips gently following his, not daring to go any further than a gentle submission to his actions. Letting him have all the control, all the power as he presses his lips, his body, closer to you, satiating a pleasure he’d denied himself for so long in the name of ego and pride. 

“Kyouya-senpai?” You whisper, finding the strength to ease your lips off his as a gentle hand returns to cautiously part your two bodies. “I know you won’t remember this, but . . .thanks for bring me home.”

Hibari looks at you for a moment as though you’re an idiot before drawing your head to rest against the hard juncture of his shoulder. A hand coming up to pet your head in a gentle manner, fingers teasing through sections of your hair. “Don’t leave my side again little animal, or I'll bite you to death.” He warns. Though his words are hard his voice is almost perturbed as the hold on you tightens momentarily. He spends the rest of the night with you in his arms. Long after you fall asleep, he’s still awake. The fingers running through your hair stopping every now and then to scratch gently at the top of your head, softy trail behind your ear. You’re so vulnerable like this, so easily he could hurt you. And yet you trust him, wholly as you lose yourself to unconscious dreams with only him to protect you from the worlds harsh distractions.

Hibari watches the video for a few more minutes, nothing changes. He doesn’t shove you off, he doesn’t reprimand you for being so familiar with him, for being so foolish as to fall asleep while he remained awake and alert. He was your senpai, not a guard dog. How could he have been so lax, so explicitly affectionate towards a kohai that had cause him so much trouble. Hibari smells treachery. An illusion, Mukuros doing. The set up some kind of cruel joke. But that wouldn’t make sense, what would Mukuro gain from impersonating him and yourself in such a strange manner. Confused and beyond irritated, Hibari smashes the monitor. Several hard thumps of his tonfa do the job fantastically well. The action leaves his chest breathing heavy as he watches the sparks fizzle and die in an erratic frenzy. He’d never tell anyone what happened, not even the baby. What he’d done with you, the fact he couldn’t remember what he had been thinking But you’d known that, you knew his actions would be lost to blank space. This was your fault,  _you’d_  done something to him and you were going to pay for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw man. Kusukabes gonna be so upset when he finds Hibari smashed another computer   
> Σ(◯Δ◯∥) Hibari, showing emotion? F A K E N E W S. I L L U S I O N S. As though he hasn't wanted to hold you and touch you with such affectionate care ever since he started liking you. As if he isn't sightly jealous of his past self for indulging in such luxuries (ﾉಠдಠ)ﾉ︵┻━┻
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience with this weeks uploads. You all are gorgeous wonderful people and you have all my blessing and positive vibes for this next year <3 <3 <3


	73. Werewolf Dimension 9000 (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's NOT happy to have you back, at all, nope, never. Didn't even miss you once.

There was no such thing as love potions. That had been the topic of conversation after Gokudera had gotten over your inappropriate actions, checked on Juidame and made himself a cup of coffee before realising you were still around, stealing the good spot on the sofa. No matter how much you insisted that’s what you’d given him the day Gokudera woke up with Hibari fucking Kyouya on his chest, he didn’t believe you.  and he hadn’t, until you’d shown him a two minute long video on your phone of him basically cuddling into Hibari like a small kitten nuzzling its mother. Gokudera had been speechless, unable to comprehend just how the FUCK that had happened. Why he couldn’t remember it, and just how  _much_ of that stuff you’d given to Hibari to make him so docile. You’d answered what you could, stating Shamal had been working on an upgraded version that was basically responsible for Hibaris one man rescue mission. After that, Gokduera didn’t really want to talk about it. Hoping he could wipe the video from his mind if he just shoved his face deep enough into a book.

Not that he’s really paying attention to said book. It’s not that he’s happy to have you back. Gokudera would never go that far. But having you back wasn’t . . . bad. Okay you stolen the good end of the sofa, and didn’t seem to show any signs of giving up as you settled down with your book, but it was quiet. Gokuderas eyes flit from the book he’s pretending to read to your face for maybe the seventh time. You’re just as you were. Sitting a few inches away from the feet he’d spread over the couch in a feeble attempt to assert dominance after you’d refused to give up your spot. You’re completely absorbed in another world, lips slightly agape as you keenly turn another page. ~~You look adorable like that.~~  Another page turn, and Gokudera notices how your finger is already poised at the top end of the page, waiting and eager to revel the next chapter. He keeps his position slumped against the arm of the sofa, looking up at you over the top of his book and reminding himself you were really back, really here in the same room.

“Why do you keep staring at me Gokudera-kun?” You ask without looking up, a smug smile creeping over your face. Words catch in his mouth, and fail to defend him. The book is placed delicately on the arm of the chair as you give him a barely contained smarmy grin.

“T-that’s none of your business!” Gokudera shouts as he dips his head back into his book. Stupid woman. He could look at things if he wanted to. You couldn’t tell him what to do with his eyes. He doesn’t dare look up again though, forcing tired eyes to focus on bleary letters as he realises he doesn’t have his glasses on. The black ink melding and sinking into itself as Gokudera holds the book further away, squinting his eyes to try and make sense of the mess in front of him. He’s nearly found the sweet spot between too far to be comfortable and too near to be legible when an interrupting cough breaks his concentration. A pair of thin rimmed glasses hang over his book, a knowing smile as they drop onto his lap. “I don’t need them.” He snipes, frowning at you fiercely and ignoring your gesture. You give him an earnest look, telling him how handsome he looks with them on anyway. The heat starts up slowly and creeps along Gokuderas neck, threatening to spread over his cheeks as he suddenly finds words difficult.  _Handsome_. Who the fuck calls  _him_  handsome. He’s a punk, a renegade, a ball of anger and fire. Handsome. You were just saying that to tease him.  Gokudera is immediately thankful for the book, as the blush around his neck lights up his face and burns across his cheeks, bringing the thick pages up to hide his face from yours. 

There's a soft giggle from somewhere behind his book and the sound of shifting cushions as you presumably settle back into the good spot of the sofa. Which now just  _apparently_  belonged to you. The electric switch of the TV catches his attention but with his reading glasses on, Gokudera can’t quite make out what you’re doing. And he doesn’t want to risk putting his book down when the residual heat in his cheek remains. Several clicks go by, a surprised noise escapes your mouth and Gokudera risks a quick look up from his book. 

“You haven’t caught up with Werewolf Dimension 9000s: The Re-Awakening?” You ask him, sounding slightly confused. Gokudera has not in fact caught up with Werewolf dimension, a terrible awfully fantastic sci-fi show the two of you had started watching. Or rather, Gokudera had started watching and you’d just  _invited_  yourself to join him every other Sunday night.  He had meant to watch it, he’d managed around five minutes into the show -where the robotic vampire had summoned the dark spirits of hell and revealed himself as a double crosser - When he’d looked over to say how he totally  _knew_  that was going to happen, only for his eyes to fall on the empty spot of the sofa. Suddenly the series had seemed less fun, Gokduera switching it off and grumbling about how stupid it was anyway.

“Did you . . . wait so we could watch it together?” You ask, a tint of excitement in your voice that’s unmissable as a grin spreads across your face. That definitely wasn’t it, he tells you folding his arms and ducking his head back behind his book. Without your constant jabbering he’d finally realised how idiotic the show was and refused to watch more. Gokudera makes an effort to sound disinterested but for some reason you put the show on anyway, picking up where he left off. You’re surprised about the secret reveal,  _like he hadn’t already told you that was coming._ And Gokudera watches slyly from the top of his vision as you go through several emotions of fear, joy, horror and disappointment as several convoluted plot points revel themselves in quick succession. Pretending not to notice the crestfallen look on your face as your favourite character very obviously doesn’t die but everyone in the series pretends it’s totally what happened – Gokudera bets his left foot they’re coming back just before the season finale as some deus ex machina, but you look totally taken by it. He sighs, and realises with dismay his coffee cup is empty.

Ignoring the adorable way you’re completely captivated by the show, Gokudera heaves his body to the kitchen grumbling to himself as realises he’s going to need a lot more coffee if he wants to ~~watch the rest of the season finale with you~~  finish his book. Pulling cupboard doors open reveals no coffee. Just one empty jar he’d meant to replace last time he made a cup. His only other option is green tea, and if he’s making a cup for himself he might as well make you a cup just . . .  because it would be rude not to.

The groggy, sleep deprived bomber makes his way awkwardly back to the living room, shoving his elbow against the door and accidently announcing his entrance louder than needed as you practically jump out your seat. An action that makes him jerk in response and spill scalding hot tea over his wrist. “Fuck!” he swears, trying to shake the burning hot liquid off his wrists and only succeeding in pouring more over him. You're by his side in a moment, using the edge of your t-shirt to wipe his hand. There isn’t much of a height difference between the two of you, but Gokudera notes how you tilt forward on your tiptoes to reach his wrist.

“Better?” You ask, removing the wet fabric and taking a cup from his hand. Gokudera just huffs and turns his head to look at the wall next to him. “I could’ve dealt with it myself.” He tells you. His only response is a small knowing laugh as you invite him back to the sofa. The grey haired bomber resuming his position, stretching his legs along the sofa and leaning his back against the cushioned arm. He doesn’t look up from his book until he feels something nudge against him. You stretch your legs across the sofa too, calves aligning with calves, his feet brushing against the side of your knee. Gokudera turns his attention briefly to you, but you’re focused on the television. The cup of tea settled delicately between two soft hands, balanced perfectly between the dip of your thighs. Did you know your leg was touching his? Did you know if he bent his foot just a little, he’d basically be touching your outer thigh? You obviously don’t, otherwise you would have said something. Should he say something? The tea in his hands seems to warm his skin, spreading to every inch of his body, pooling in his legs where they brush yours. His bodies too tired to care, but his brain can’t stop focusing on it. He tries to distract himself, reading his book doesn’t work, not when the TV’s on and you’re making such gorgeous faces while you watch. He turns his attention to the show, it works a for a while. Before long you’re back and forthing with theories and ideas for the practical application of occult magic on smart phones. He says something that makes you laugh and you rub the edge of your foot against his knee as that soft melodic laughter fills his mind. He doesn't jump at the touch, but he becomes acutely aware of your foot as you turn back to the TV. Before he can stop himself, his foot rubs against your knee. You glance over, giving him a soft smile before a loud explosion on screen steals both your attentions. 

Gokudera is glad for the distraction. What had he been thinking?! Proding you with his foot. You probably think he’s got a foot fetish now, stroking what was basically your thigh through his sock. The storm guardian turns back to his book and abandons the tea. Best to avoid doing anything so stupid again.

 A soft pressure stirs his peace. Half way between waking and sleep Gokudera feels woven cotton slide over his body, a cool hand loosely tucking in the fabric around his chest. The touch stops. He doesn't open his eyes, doesn’t need to, to know you’re standing over him. Another hand, or maybe the same hand hooks a thumb near his cheek, slowly, delicately slipping off his glasses. A gentle tap, tap and click indicating they’re folded and placed back in their protective case with only the greatest of care.  Gokudera doesn’t dare move, his heart aching as your touch leaves his skin and he hears the melodic thoughtful hum of your voice. “You do look really handsome with your glasses on Gokduera-kun.” You whisper as fingers brush hair away from the side of his face. The touch is gone before he can really savour it. All to quickly footsteps pace away from him and the staggered clink of the living room door closes.

You really were a clueless woman. Staring at him while he slept, disturbing him with blankets instead of just waking him up like a normal person. He huffs and rolls himself over on the sofa, you were such a pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big dumb anxious, defensive, nervous, over thinking, Gokudera is BAE and you know it ;) So nice of you to hang around so you could spend some time with the big amgry boi, shame he's still a big tsundere otherwise he might appreciate the fact you hung around to watch your favourite TV show together ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ 
> 
> Again thank you so much for your patience with these uploads, i love you guys so much. I've heard through the grapevine that some of you are logging out/opening different browers to favourite the story again and i just . . . like thanks? That's so amazing and it makes me feel so happy that you guys continually show this series so much love <3 It makes it so much more rewarding to write and share it with you guys. Thank you so so so much ♡ඩ⌔ඩ♡


	74. Unstable (Hibari, Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swings and roundabouts

T he package dropped off in front of the  Vongola  mansion only contained your weapon, the rest –for some reason- had been returned to  Namimori  school. You shrug it off. The other items could wait, having your weapon back in your hand was all you needed for now. Swinging and flexing it between your hands you take a moment to get used to it again. After an injured arm and being parted with it for your whole Italy trip, the muscle memory has become a little faded.

As you walk up the stairs you remind yourself what it means to fight, taking down imaginary foes with old moves that comes back to you in trickles, then flood gates as you swing around the top banister and land a deadly  strike .

“You got  em !” A familiar voice chuckles.  Yamamotos  there, in a shirt and boxers giving you that light hearted smile . You grin back at him, playfully nudging his shoulder with your weapon as he walks over to you.  Yamamoto gives you his own little nudge as he pulls you in for a hug. “Good to have you back.” He says, as you let the warmth and security of his touch surround you. You’d missed it so much when you were alone in Itay, it’d be nice to settle into those friendly touches again without having to worry about Dino’s prying eyes.

The thought of Dino brings back other memories. Memories of being thrown in a cell, of Yamamoto fighting  Hibari .  Your body goes tense in the rain guardians hold, remembering the sheer deadly aura that lay beneath his placating smile.

“You okay?” Yamamoto asks, loosening his grip and stepping back to take a look at you. Instinct kicks in, and before you know what you’re doing the rough end of your weapon is pointed against his neck. His eyes widen in surprise, his hands gradually moving up his shoulders in a compliant gesture. “Hey, it’s just me.” He reassures you. That heart-warming smile back on his lips as he gives you a cheerful laugh. A part of you doesn’t fall for it, reminding you of the raw danger that lies behind that disarmingly charming personality. The other half tells you it’s silly, this is Yamamoto. You  _ know _  him. Or at least, you thought you knew him.

Neither side wins, but the longer you take to decide, the more confused Yamamoto becomes. In an attempt to ease the atmosphere, his hand gently comes to rest on the edge of your weapon.  “It’s okay . ” Yamamoto tells you  again, his face is relaxed but his eyes are searching yours intently . It does nothing to ease the tension in  the grip around your weapon . He’d gone from friendly to fierce before without warning, this isn’t any different. His casual air  must be  a trick, deception wrapped in a lax tone and care-free smi l e. You’d met people like that before, hiding behind friendly actions only to pounce when you were vulnerable. But you’d always been able to see through that from a mile away. Yamamoto had been so convincing, so friendly. Your body hangs on the edge of fight or flight syndrome as he stops in his tracks when you don’t respond, tilting his head with a concerned look over his face.

Before he can say something else to try and ease you into a false sense of security, of knowing, you scarper to your bedroom and shove the lock over so hard it scrapes your finger.  You purposefully try not to hear if he follows you to your door, but either way he doesn’t try the handle. The two voices in your head continue arguing. It’s not  unti  your start getting ready for bed that you come to a conclusion. Friend or not, Yamamoto is dangerous.

Yamamoto tries to brush it off , waking up alone in the morning –in his own bed- wasn't a new feeling, but the sadness felt new. Knowing you were in the room next to his and had shut him out felt like a fastball straight through his chest . You could be tired, jetlag had made him feel weird, it could be making you weird too. To help out, he decides to make you breakfast. Sometimes a good night's sleep and a decent meal could fix a person right up. It’s early morning when he gets up, making sure to be up a little earlier than usual to surprise you before  your first day of  summer school  together . He’s about halfway down the stairs when the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts past his nose. Either you were already up, or  Gokudera  hadn't gone to sleep.  As his feet pad gently down the stairs he finds i t’s you, back to the door as you jimmy your mug under the coffee dispenser, clearly displeased with the amount you’d been given.

“Morning!”  Yamamoto  calls, sliding next to you to grab some cutlery from the drawer. Before he can so much as move his arm, your  weapon  is pressed against his neck, pinning him to the wall to his left. There's a flicker of aggression in your eyes and, as Yamamoto  tries  to move your staff away ,  you shove it closer to his airways. He waits, staying positively still, giving you time to realise it’s him. Eventually, you do.  “Sorry, sorry,  i’m just  . . .  afraid of—afraid it was you. . . no not that I was. . . I just, you startled me.” You stammer, slowly backing away from him, towards the door.  And then you’re gone, the white coffee mug forgotten about as he hears the hard slam of the mansion door.

Yamamoto notes the hesitation as you enter the classroom, only your seat and the seat next to it are left.  One close to him, within note passing distance, the other just cruelly out of reach and eyeline.  He masks the deep , aching  sigh in his chest as you take a different seat, two away from him.  He sits back in his chair, if he cranes his  neck  he can just catch the back of your head. But it’s not the same. Throughout the lesson you’re quiet, only looking up from your notebook to the board then back again. He stares at his own work book, mostly filled with messy scribbles and stickmen baseball players. He tries to figure out what’s changed. What could have happened to suddenly make you so . . . afraid of him.

Yamamoto decides giving you a little space might be a good idea.  To take his mind off things , he decides to hit the batting cages. He tries not to think about the time he’d spent with you in the cages, how fun it had been. How warm and easy you were to spend time with. His thoughts are interrupted by a large piece of paper, eye level, and a lock around the cage door.

“ _ Seized under the control of the disciplinary committee _ ” __ is written in  sharp neat letters  across the laminated paper. Sizing up the situation, Yamamoto decides there’s only one person who could have done this. Taking the sign, he calms his anger and heads to find  Hibari  for what is probably a fine explanation.

When he gets to the disciplinary room, you’re there. Briefing Hibari on something as you stand in front of his desk. Yamamoto knocks on the open door. “Hibari-kun?” He calls, taking a few steps into the room, mindful of your reaction as you practically jump at the sound of his voice.

“What do you want herbivore?”  Hibari  asks, an irritated tone in his voice as he idly gestures for you to step aside. You obey, finally making eye contact. Yamamoto gives you a small smile as he walks up to the desk. His hand a few inches away from your side as he places the laminated paper into  Hibaris  view.  Hibari  doesn't say anything, but Yamamoto doesn't notice. What he notices, is the quickening breath in your chest as you look at him. There’s something behind your eyes, fear, panic, worry? He barely has a second to figu r e it out when  Hibari  distracts both of you.

“Herbivore!”  Hibari  scolds, standing up from his chair and moving to smack Yamamoto with his tonfa. Yamamoto shoves the paper in front of him, leaving the impact to tear the laminated sheet and run out of energy before it  makes contact.  You make a concerned noise, somewhere between surprise and worry, and Yamamoto watches you back away slowly to  Hibaris  side. Putting a desk between yourself and him, a physical barrier. 

“Leave.”  Hibari  warns him and Yamamoto senses the tension and aggression brewing under the could  guardians controlled  stare.

Hibari had been enjoying his day thoroughly. Between beating up disobedient herbivores dragged back for summer school, and finding the most degrading, time consuming and ultimately soul breaking tasks for you to complete as punishment for your abuse of his power and memory.  Hibari  had vowed to make you suffer. The disciplinary room was off limits. You were only permitted to speak to him regarding committee matters. From now on you were solely responsible for the cleaning of  Namimori  from top to bottom. You were to arrive an hour earlier for your duties, and not leave until he had inspected every single one of them and approved your effort. You’d become far too comfortable with him, forgetting he was your senpai. Forgetting he was your better, and you were to worship every single second of his presence.     

it was  Hibaris  job to remind you of your place –under him.

This idea only seems to reinforce itself as you scarper to his side, away from the herbivore so rudely interrupting his lecture to you.  Hibari  smirks darkly at the overly friendly herbivore, proud you so clearly chose to seek his protection when possible danger arose. Not that the tall herbivore was a threat physically, but clearly you had come to your senses and realised  Hibari  was the strongest person in your life. He enjoys the sensation for a moment longer after the herbivore leaves. A polite bow as the boy seemingly reluctantly leaves the room. “Stop hiding behind me.”  Hibari  commands, not bothering to turn his chair around to make eye contact. There’s a mumbled  _ sorry  _ before you appear in front of him again. You were learning your place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. Hibari's probably not gonna forgive you competly but boy did you just stoke his already massive ego. Be careful or oyou might find yourself punished in other ways |ω・）
> 
> Also i'm alive, i promise <3


	75. Deal Me In (Gokudera)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanna prerequisite this chapter by saying i'm bad at math and i tried

Files and chores, that was your life right now. If it wasn’t summer school homework or disciplinary files. It was cleaning the school or trying to source someone trustworthy to fix the living room wall who was neither an ally of the  Vongola  or an enemy.

You sigh as you pour yourself another cup of coffee and look at your phone. It’s midnight, but you hadn’t been able to sleep anyway. You’d tried, these last few nights nothing in your routine had changed. If anything, you’d been more tired with the extra work  Hibari  was making you do. But try as you might, you couldn’t sleep. Waking up in a cold sweat, hands reaching for the reassuring warmth of a body that doesn’t exist. Night terrors hadn’t haunted you since you’d arrived at  Namimori , but they were creeping back in, slowly  and  surely .

A swig of coffee and you resign yourself to your newest occupation – poker. Reborn had given you a special task, promising extra resources for retrieving your sister if everything went according to plan. The trouble was, learning poker by yourself wasn’t exactly easy. Walking through to the conservatory and shuffling the cards, you decide to dedicate your night to learning. The heat of the summer night was unbearable even in just a tank top and shorts,there’s no way you could sleep tonight anyway. You’re about to deal when a loud thump breaks your attention.

“Who the fuck keeps drinking my coffee?!” A familiarly annoyed voice calls from the kitchen.

“Sorry,  Gokudera-kun !” You call back, thankful the kitchen is so far from everyone else’s rooms.

You hear a surprised sputter from the next room and a moment later the  grey-haired  guardian appears in the door frame. He doesn't look amused. “Make your own fucking coffee,  you  clueless woman!” He scolds.  Gokuderas  eyes do a double take over the table, then to you. “And put some proper clothes on!” He says, covering his eyes abruptly. For someone so grumpy he gets weirdly flustered about the most insignificant things. You retaliate, telling him it’s far too hot to wear anything more. “That’s no excuse for walking around nearly naked!” He says, and you’re half convinced he’s more embarrassed than angry. But you pull a cushion over your front and tuck your legs up onto the chair. 

“Better?” You tease.  Gokudera  just gives you an annoyed look and takes a seat across from you, inspecting the cards. He’s quick to catch on. “Poker?” He asks. You nod, giving a brief explanation of the offer Reborn made. 

“You know the annual mafia poker game?” You ask.

Gokudera  lets out an annoyed huff. “You mean where a bunch of old geezers drink and play shitty card games to try and one-up each other?” 

You nod. “It’s the Vongolas turn to host. Reborn wants to assure Tsuna victory to help establish him as the next boss.” You explain. Something about that statement annoys Gokudera as he folds his arms and kicks the table leg. “Juidame is already Juidame, he doesn't need to win a poker game to prove that.” He grumbles. You nod slowly, not wanting to point out that Tsuna has a long way to go before he’s deadly enough to be considered a boss. Instead, you shift the conversation, explaining that Reborn had decided to utilise your sleight of hand skills to ensure Tsunas victory. And that you’d agreed before realising you didn’t  _actually_  know how to play poker.

Gokudera  lets out a mock laugh. “That’s your own damn fault then.” He says, leaning forward in his chair. “Don’t expect me to help you.” He scoffs. You open your mouth to say you didn’t expect him to help you at all when you're interrupted by him abruptly standing up and leaving without a word. You shake your head, deciding it’s easier to brush off his actions than to try and figure out what goes through the  Vongola  storm guardians head. Turning back to your set up, you begin playing out another hand.

After a few hours,  things  get a little easier. Videos and tutorials online give you a rough idea of what to look for in a hand and some of the  beginner's  terminology. It’s late now, but you know it’s pointless to try sleeping. Dealing out another hand, you hear something shift behind you. An equally as sleepy looking  Gokudera  wanders through the dining room and into the conservatory. “You’re still at this?” He grumbles, huffing as he takes the seat opposite you and sips his coffee. You nod, not really knowing how to respond but glad for the company. Taking the hand set to your right, you try to strategies the most likely move from your imaginary player. Two sevens is a good hand but it doesn’t get help from the cards in the middle of the table. Calling or checking would be an equally smart move. You look back at your own hand momentarily to confer.

“You’ll never learn like that.”  Gokudera  informs you, staring you down from the edge of his cup. He’s right, but you don’t have much choice.  Hibari  isn’t fond of gambling games, Lambos too young to play, Ryohei lacked the patience to learn and Chrome was a little difficult to get a hold of let alone to invite for a game.  Gokudera  stares at the  setup , mumbles something to himself, then picks up a hand. The temptation to tease him about  _ not asking him for help _  puts a smirk on your face, but you resist, not wanting to ruin the chance of actually having someone to play with.

“I win.” He says, turning his hand face down into the middle of the table. You check the cards, and sure enough,  Gokudera  has the highest scoring hand with a straight flush.

“How did you-” 

Gokudera  explains it to you. He casually breaks down the statistical likelihood of the other three imaginary players having a higher hand than him – seven in forty - assuming you were playing with a standard  fifty two  pack and no one was cheating. And then the chances of your own hand being better -three in  forty-eight \- and then another calculation for the probability of how you shuffled the pack given he already had two hearts in his hand and there’s three on the table. He continues on, throwing numbers and figures and poker terminology around as though they were comments on the weather. The chances of you having only two outs were high and at best those outs were lower than his hand already.

The information is enough to make your head spin, it could be because you’re so tired, but the confusion on your face is obvious enough that even  Gokudera  catches on. “Look it’s not that hard.” He says, no trace of patience in his voice as he gathers up the cards and shuffles them. With an annoyed look completely contrary to his actions, he deals the first three cards and sets up two hands. To your surprise, he pulls up one of the wooden chairs next to you and points to your cards. “There’s  fifty-two  cards in a pack, you have five in your hand, five in your opponents and three on the table. So right now, the chances of a card not currently on the table being drawn are  X out of thirty-nine .” He explains as rough calloused hands guide you to pick up your dealt cards.

“There’s a three, four and queen on the table. The chances of those card coming up in the next draw are less than any other number because there’s already one of those missing from the four in the pack.” He says, sounding more like a teacher than the  Gokudera  you know. For a moment you enjoy the touch of his skin against yours. His hands are so big and you can see the thin veins that run under pale skin. “Are you listening?!”  Gokudera  snaps, turning his head to check you’re paying attention. You assure him you are, repeating back the last sentence he’d told you. It works and  Gokudera  almost seems not annoyed as you make attempts to figure out the next best move. 

It takes a  while,  you catch on to the basic statistics quickly but then  Gokudera  throws in two more packs and things start getting complicated. You weren’t on to turn down a challenge and before you know it you’ve challenged  Gokudera  to serious match. Cups of coffee wagered in place of money and no dealer but the trust the two of you had in each other. “Full house!” You grin sleepily, revealing your cards.

“Straight flush,”  Gokudera  says without mercy as he pulls the two empty cups you’ve been using for chips towards his side. It’s not fair, he’s won seven in a row already but you refuse to give up. Momentarily you’re blinded by a shining light from the window behind your opponent.  Somehow  it’s morning already.

The storm guardian yawns, rubbing his eyes and mumbling to himself. You joke he’s faking tiredness to get out of losing to you as you gather up the cards and stand up in your seat. “You’re talking pretty tough for someone who hasn’t won a single hand.” He says mockingly with a smirk on his face that seems more fond than challenging. You laugh, feeling something warm and soft glow in your heart as you look at your new-found tutor. “ThanksGokudera.” You smile before tidying up and leaving to get ready for summer school. 

On your way past the kitchen you pick up a book you must have left lying on the counter. You don’t think about it until you’re upstairs trying to put it back in alphabetical order on your shelf. The strange thing is, you don’t remember buying a book on advanced statistics and poker. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gokudera going into teacher mode then friend mode is my new fave bby too smart he gotta remember not everyone is a genius mm k?!


	76. Little Blind (Yamamoto)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HE NEEDS SOME MILK

Yamamoto had found himself at a bit of a loss. Sure, he had many friends at school and he was never short of attention, but lately, it hadn’t been enough. Sharing lunch with everyone hadn’t been as fun when you’d barely make eye contact with him. He’d stopped seeing you in the mornings too, Hibari demanding you show up earlier than students and keeping you back well beyond sundown. Which is why he’s a little surprised to hear your voice echo down the hallway and into the kitchen. The rain guardian scratches his head as he makes himself a hot cup of milk before bed. He’d had a little trouble sleeping these past few days and it could just be his imagination. He’s halfway down the corridor when the conversation fully catches his attention. 

“I just don’t know how you expect me to get Hibari to follow along with this plan. He barely even considers himself a guardian and he  _hates_ crowds.” You say, voice coming from the meeting room down the hall. 

“Nobody expected you to convince Hibari to take you back to Namimori and stay quiet about it, perhaps you should use those tactics again.” Reborn says, a hint of smugness in his voice. Yamamoto walks over to the door, hoping to offer some mediation when it’s slammed open as you storm out. Nearly knocking into him Yamamoto grabs your shoulder with his free hand to stop you from running face first into his chest. “Careful there.” He chuckles, feeling a natural smile spread across his face as he looks at you. There was no missing the way you freeze in his grip and immediately removes his hand. There’s no mistaking the lingering movement of your fingers over your weapon, or the steps back you take once you realise it’s him. 

Yamamoto tosses in his bed, sitting up to take a few sips of milk. He misses talking to you, as he leans back against the wooden headboard he imagines sharing his day with you. If you’d smile when he told you about his baseball practice, roll your eyes when he’d tell you he still hasn’t started his homework, laugh when he ran out of words to describe things and used sound effects or hand gestures instead. His phone lights up with a notification from Ryohei asking if he’s free for some extreme joint practice next week. Yamamoto taps out a quick reply saying he’d be very excited for it. As he exits the conversation his thumb hovers over your contact name. Would calling you work? If you weren’t close to him maybe you’d be less scared. Taking a chance, Yamamoto gathers a deep breath and presses your name. 

The lonely ring of the phone echoes through his room and Yamamoto pulls the pillow next to him onto his laps, holding it tight and fiddling with the edge of the cover. Another ring and still nothing. He doesn't put the phone down. Seven rings later, there’s a voice on the other end. 

“Are you okay?” Comes your voice form the other end. There’s concern etched into every syllable. It gives Yamamoto hope. Yamamoto quickly lets out an assuringly positive hum, feeling relief and happiness at the sound of your voice.  There’s a long pause as Yamamoto waits for you to respond.  

“Are you sure?” You ask, and Yamamoto can hear the sound of soft footsteps on wooden floors.  

“I can’t sleep.” He says, shifting so he’s lying on his side.  

There’s another long pause, as if you’re trying to decide if this is something that requires your attention. Yamamoto listens closely for any queues he can find to figure out your thought process. He could guess you were in your room, still up. A really, really big part of him wants to knock on your door and see you, but he knows that would cross a line. So, he waits patiently, stroking the side of his phone as he catches the light sound of your breathing. 

“Have you tried a glass of milk?” You offer eventually. 

Yamamoto looks over at the half empty glass of milk on his bedside drawer. “No.” He lies. 

He can hear rustling, a few more steps and the sound of a rubber sealed door being opened, the soft hum of the refrigerator. You inform him there’s enough left in the fridge for a cup. “I’ll come down!” He says cheerily.  

“No!” You shout, loud enough that another familiar voice shouts back that you shouldn’t be shouting at this time of night. Gokudera was downstairs with you. There’s a quick apology on the other end of the phone that Yamamoto can't be sure is aimed at him or Gokudera. Before he can ask, the line goes dead. 

 

Yamamoto counts it as progress. Talking to you over the phone was something, and he’d missed your company very much. So, he keeps it up. Every night before he goes to bed. The conversations are short. Sometimes Gokudera interrupts with mumbles about poker, sometimes you’re still at school and Hibari snatches the phones away from you before calling Yamamoto an annoying herbivore. It hurts, but that doesn’t matter. Not when he gets to hear your voice. Not when you finally make eye contact with him across the crowded hallway and don’t wince. It’s worth it. He couldn’t yet approach you, but you could work up to that. Yamamotos figuring out exactly how to do that as he walks into the school gym 

“Ah Yamamoto EXTREME timing!” Ryohei shouts, waving a gloved hand as he points to you, alone without a partner to practice with. “We could use an extra pair of hands.” 

You look terrified, already opening your mouth to say something, but Yamamoto interrupts before you can protest. “I’ll take the pads!” He shouts, picking up a pair of the heavily restrictive mitts and shoving them on. He’s careful to watch your reaction, standing completely still in front of you with covered hands held up against his shoulders in a peaceful gesture. You size him up from a safe distance, not waking over but not creating more distance either.  

Yamamoto lets out a nervous laugh Making sure you’re watching, he clumsily tries to pick up his water bottle and take a drink. It goes terribly, the thick pads don’t fold or give in any way so he has to carefully balance the water bottle between his hands and attempt to drink. Ryohei eventually stepping in to take the cap off the bottle.    
“Thanks, Ryohei-senpai, guess I'm a little useless with my hands in pads.” He comments, making sure you hear. A confused look is shot his way from both you and Ryohei, but Yamamoto knows what he’s doing, this will work. It has too. Without the use of his hands, he’s practically defenceless and you know this. 

Taking slow measured steps, you move towards him. Close enough to begin practising. Yamamoto matches your pace, eyes fixed on you to read for any signs of worry or fear.  “You two good?” Ryohei asks. You take a deep breath, and Yamamoto can see you squeeze your fists into the firm red of your gloves before nodding. With careful movements, Yamamoto raises his hands up for targeting simultaneously lowering himself slightly so his six foot and a bit frame doesn't tower over you so much. Ryohei nods and blows his whistle to start the training exercise. On command, you start up a rhythm. Hook. Jab. Hook. Jab. You’re going hard on him, holding nothing back as you punch the pads with aggressive vigour, almost as if you’re trying to move him away from you by sheer force.  “How’re you?” Yamamoto asks in the small rest period between attacks.  

“Fine.” You reply through slightly gritted teeth as you focus ahead, attention welded to the black pads in front of you. 

“I heard you talking with Reborn.” He says, hoping to open up a discussion. It was always so hard to know what you were thinking. A begrudging “mmm” is his only response as you move to circle round him. Yamamoto throws mafia game talk out the window and tries something else. He tells you a little about his day, the stuff you normally like to hear. Though the barrage of attacks doesn’t change, something in your eyes softens a little. He keeps going, telling you about his baseball game and how he’s almost close to beating his best batting average this season. You laugh and mumble something about him being his only competition on the field as your arms float in the air waiting for the next rhythm to start up. Yamamoto steps round in a circle with you this time, pushing his way forward to manoeuvre you the way an opponent would. You respond in kind, twisting your body side on to keep your targetable areas low while keeping your attention on him.  

“You’re good at this.” He says. 

“I had a good teacher.” You reply, and Yamamoto catches the glint of a smile on your face as you thud another punch against his hand, you still don’t make eye contact but it’s progress. “He’s really good isn’t he.” Yamamoto agrees, recalling how easy Ryohei was to learn from. You smirk. “I had two good teachers.” You say, making eye contact as a cheeky double jab hits his left pad. Yamamoto returns the grin. Bracing his shoulder for the new pattern. Once you get comfy, Yamamoto switches it up. Turning one of his pads face down, signalling for an uppercut punch. It catches you off guard momentarily, before the fire in your eyes that had previously been a smoulder ignites and you start focusing on him more. Each time he changes up his pad position you follow perfectly. It’s like the two of you are perfectly in sync as you circle each other. Your eyes stuck on his as he chops and changes his footwork to try and throw you off.  You both laugh when an unsuspecting pair almost bump into you. It feels good to laugh with you again. 

Ryohei blows his whistle. “Extreme practice guys! Now you can swap.” 

Yamamotos body tenses, that wouldn’t work. If you had pads and he had gloves he was no longer powerless, he’d be the aggressor. You seem to realise the same thing. The fire in your eyes smouldering and burning out only to be replaced by a frantic glance between him, Ryohei and the door out the gym. He can almost hear your pulse racing as you mind sparks with worry. “We’ll keep how we are.” He calls to Ryohei. “Angle-chans making good progress!” 

It works. Yamamoto watches as the fire in your eyes reignites and an understanding nod is passed his way. You knew what he was doing, and you appreciated it. Feeling a cocky smile run across his lips Yamamoto nods and reassumes his position as target. If you thought he was going to go easy on you because he’d volunteered to catch for the second round, you had another thing coming. 

Ryohei is about to blow his whistle again when he’s interrupted. “Dog!” Hibari calls.  

You cringe, but drop your fists and being ungloving your hands, tugging at the red rim of the gloves with your teeth. Hibari doesn’t seem amused and folds his arm while he waits. 

“Sorry senpai.” You mumble, finally tugging off your gloves and handing them to Ryohei.  

“You have work to do, stop fooling around with herbivores.” Hibari chides. You don’t say anything, but throw an apologetic look at Ryohei. 

“Hibari’s got an extreme way of doing things.” Ryohei says. “He keeps showing up and taking Angel out of practice.” The sun guardian explains. The grey-haired boxer scratches his head. “Maybe he’s jealous he doesn't get to practice boxing.” Ryohei concludes as he offers Yamamoto the spare gloves. Taking a deep breath, Yamamoto can’t help but think that’s not the only thing Hibari is jealous of. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, looks like Yamamoto's going to have to work a bit harder to keep your attention. ord knows it aint going to be easy in these upcoming summer holidays -chapters-. But god damn is that bby gonna try.
> 
> I've seen a big jump in views/hit this week so I really hope you newcomers are enjoying the story. I promise it's usually a lot more regularly updated, but due to tot he fact I'm trying to get myself back into education these past few weeks have been a nightmare. To the longtime readers, i just want to say a massive thank you for sticking with the series, you're such wonderful people and the bookmarks and kudos are so much more rewarding than i could ever express thank you so so much <3


	77. Big Blind (Hibari)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you convince Hibari Kyouya to attend formal gatherings full of herbivores and crowds and loud noise?

It hadn’t slipped Hibari's mind. The way you’d practically scurried to his desk and all but hid behind him when the herbivore barged in. He could choose to be annoyed that you were scared of such a pathetic move, but that seemed unimportant in light of more recent events. In the heat of the moment, in a second of powerlessness, you’d chosen him. You saw him as your protector, senpai, owner. 

Hibari smirks to himself as he watches you walk into Namimori school building from his position on the rooftop. You’d asked him to meet you here, and he had a pretty good idea of what you wanted to talk to him about. His eyes sparkling with tainted excitement as he imagines your confession. Oh yes, you were his. There was no denying it. He admits to himself, he’s slightly disappointed. Simultaneously with how long it had taken you to realise he was the most powerful and worthy candidate, and how easy it had been now he had you. His older self must have had a harder time capturing you given how cheeky and disrespectful you were on his visit to the future. He’d be sure to rub it in his older self’s face if he ever got the chance. Not that he himself hadn’t been thrown off these past few weeks. Leaving a present in his office for Kusukbae – some drivel on the tag attached, thanking him for arranging the video calls while you were in Italy- but no present for him. You’d been so poorly behaved lately, but perhaps you were just acting out to get your senpais attention. Showing up nearly five minutes before your assigned time, half falling asleep in your classes. If Hibari wasn’t such a kind senpai he might have punished you for such insolent behaviour, but he could admit now, he had a soft spot for you. 

Of course, he couldn't accept your confession right away. He’d make you apologise first for all the trouble you’d caused. Then beg for his forgiveness. And then, once he was fully satisfied, he’d hear you out. Hibari toys with the idea of turning you down as he strokes Hibird casually, the wind picking up and ruffling her feathers. He enjoys the idea of leaving you hanging for a few days, maybe a week or two. The summer sun warms his skin as he hears the sound of the rooftop door open and close. 

You call out to him, a sound Hibari savours as he appears from behind the water tower. There’s no need for words, a simple stare informs you that you have his attention. “I have a favour to ask.” You say, and Hibari notes the nervousness in your voice as you tug awkwardly at the end of your school skirt. It’s a strange way to start a confession, but then perhaps you weren’t familiar enough with Japanese culture to follow the proper social rules. He would forgive you, for now. 

“Kyoyua-Senpai, would you represent the cloud guardian position at the Vongola annual poker game.” You ask. “And a few social parties.” You follow up quickly, almost as if to slip the information by him unnoticed.  

Hibari hides his surprise, momentarily confused as to how this relates to you confessing your love for him. Whatever look is on his face, Hibari immediately sharpens it to a burning glare. How dare you insult him by asking if he wants to team up with a bunch of greedy, insolent, annoying, helpless, weakling herbivores. And social _parties_ _?!_  rooms filled with crowds of milling herbivores he wouldn’t be allowed to fight. This had to be some kind of joke. A terrible badly thought out joke. Hibari would show you what he thought of your sense of humour. Grabbing his tonfa he charges towards you.  

Hibari has enough speed to reach you in seconds, a tonfa extended ready to smack you for your insolence. But something catches his attention, you’re not readying yourself for the attack. Instead, you reach into your pocket. He ignores it if you weren’t going to defend that was your own fault. As he readies himself for the first attack you shift, shoving a phone directly into this line of sight, screen facing forward. What Hibari see’s makes him stop dead in his tracks. There, displayed fully in colour and sound, was a video of him and the grey-haired herbivore. The two of them . . . cuddled on a vaguely familiar looking sofa. Hibari all but nuzzling his head into the smaller boys chest as he encourages the herbivore to submit to his affections. An illusion. This was clearly a fake. Annoyed, Hibari makes a grab for the phone, only to be met with a swift strike of your weapon against his hand. 

“You don’t remember this do you senpai?” You ask him, keeping your voice steady and your hand up. The video continues playing, showing Hibari and the herbivore on loop. Hibari's face nestling against the other chest as though he were sleeping on top of a lover. 

“Look, I get it. You have a reputation to protect, you’re the demon of Namimori. But imagine if this got out. You, Hibari Kyouya, cuddling a herbivore. Showing affection to a herbivore. Sleeping with a herbivore.” You say, taking his wrist in your hand and drawing it behind his back. The movement is so slick Hibari doesn’t have time to realise it’s happened until the grip on his tonfa drops, hard metal hitting the worn tiles of the school rooftop. “The whole school would know that you were capable of loving emotions.” You continue. Hibari doesn't need to hear this from you. Taking his free hand he shifts his feet to turn round and smack you. Only to find your weapon struck painfully against the inner corner of his foot. Another blow hits the back of his knee and he keels forward, only held up by the grip of your hand on his arm.“Don’t make this harder than it has to be senpai.” You tell him. Keeping your voice soft but firm as your knee digs into the back of his spine. 

“Go the poker game, sit down, play a few herbivores for their money. It’ be easier than you think, I promise.” Hibari goes quiet, feeling rage and anger  _seethe_  into his blood. He would kill you for this. He would murder you and burn your phone and kill you dead and bite you to death and then rip your organs out from your dead body and burn them along with everything you ever loved and anyone who’d ever been in contact with you. Foolishly, you let go of his arm. Hibari catches himself before he hits the ground and moves to attack but you shove your phone into his face again. The blaringly bright screen showcasing his humiliation. “If you do this, I’ll delete the video from my phone and I'll do anything you ask in return.” You tell him, showing that you haven’t yet stored the file anywhere else on your device. You assure him you don’t want to cause him any harm -as though you could ever hurt him- but you need his guaranteed co-operation right now. “Please senpai. Just please work with me on this.” You ask him, a slight in your voice that Hibari denies soothes some of the anger he feels. 

He doesn’t nod or agree, but stares you down hard as he tightens the grip on his weapon. “Destroy it, and once this is over, you’re to leave the disciplinary committee and understand you are exiled from Namimori.” He tells you. Knowing how much the thought would hurt you to never see him again. 

“Deal!” You nod. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HMmmmm looks like this is gonna be a tricky situation if everything doesn't go to plan reader-chan ;) Don't think for a second Hibari isn't going to do the least possibletm to comply with your demands and be a massive pain in your side either way. You can't control him, he's a C L O U D.
> 
> Another version of this chapter had the reader character threaten to show the video to Dino, who would obviously decide it was his job to get Hibari to embrace his newfound identity and /drag/ him along to every pride parade, LGBT party picnic and force him to spend time with Gokudera on a regular basis until Dino was satisfied Hibari felt accepted. (I also really loved the idea of Hibari being forced to go to pride and just HATING the noise and crowds and cheering and having to play along with Dino's whims so he ends up with rainbow EVERYTHING and Dino makes him wear it so he knows he's loved and cared for no matter which gender he likes) But I worried that the joke might come across as if it were about Hibari's sexuality, rather than about Dino's knee jerk reaction and over-enthusiastic approach to his students queerness while completely ignoring what Hibari's obvious disdain for such activities. However i think the sheer threat to Hibari's pride of having people know he's even slightly capable of showing /e m o t i o n/ works too. We inclusive and considerate in this vaguely heterosexual fanfic! <3


End file.
